Official One Year Update

Finally :)

Firstly, my weight has been bouncing between 200 and 203 all month... I only saw 199.8 one day...I'm just sticking with 200lbs for my official one year weight and not celebrating 199 just yet... hopefully by next week!

Here are my comparison photos compared with my last set, which was taken at 8 months post op:

(Don't see much difference in the front view. Wearing smaller shorts though!)

(Something about the angle is funky, so this doesn't look right... but I do notice that my back and butt look smaller, and I have some muscle perking up in my thigh!)

(I see less fat by my armpits, above my elbows, and my stance isn't as wide!)

So those are the small changes.

Now for the big changes, comparing to the beginning!

Measurements

I have lost a total of 77 1/2" off my total body measurements since the beginning. I've updated my stats on the weight loss page if you care to see specific measurements :)


Food

At one year post op, I still eat roughly six times per day and I eat usually 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food per meal. The amount my stomach will hold varies by time of day, what else I've eaten that day, etc. I always have to pay attention. I have only thrown up twice since surgery, both times forced when I ate something that made me feel too full or too sick. For the most part I've done very well at being aware of my fullness level. I can eat fats and sugars, but not really large amounts without feeling upset to my tummy (a milkshake is just too much, and that was one of the times I threw up... I no longer want to ever have one again.)
I can eat surprisingly large amounts of carbs if eaten alone (i.e. a big bowl of popcorn) so I try not to do that very often. If eating ONLY dense protein, such as a chicken breast, I can still only eat about 3-5 ounces. I feel heavy inside when I eat fried foods, so I usually avoid them. I still usually follow the rule of protein first. I can still get full on a protein shake in the mornings. I still do not drink soda (and never plan to), very rarely consume any alcohol. I DO NOT DRINK WITH MEALS and for an hour afterward. I get 60-80 ounces of water per day.

Exercise

My level of exercise varies greatly because of my pain levels. The 'ideal workout schedule' I shared previously doesn't seem like something my body will allow me to adhere to. I am doing Curves 3x per week and doing hikes most weekends, a couple more walks or other cardio thrown in here and there but not as consistently as I would like. Just have to keep trying and hope my pain will eventually subside... the back and hip problems I have give me bad days and better days, no real "good" days right now, but I do think I can try to do a little more than I have been doing.

Clothing Size

I am now wearing 14 or 16 in pants.  In the beginning I was a 26/28 for pants. I am wearing 14 or Large for dresses... I started as size 24 or 26 for dresses. I am now wearing mostly size L in tops (some mediums, some xl), started as a 3X/4X in tops. In the past couple months I have dropped in size for both pants and tops... yet my measurements haven't changed too much, so not sure what that's all about except the fat may be coming from some interesting areas lol.


Current Challenges

Food is difficult. With the amount I can eat now, I can consume as many calories as a normal person now if I don't watch what I'm eating.

Exercise is difficult because of my pain. So in the past, I've exercised more to counteract my food choices, but that is a challenge now.

I have lost 15 lbs in the past six months, which in my opinion is not nearly enough. I believe I can do better.


Game Plan

I think it's time to bite the bullet and put a little more structure into my weight loss efforts. It's hard to feel like I need to do things I have done in the past that I thought I was done with... but I have decided to re-join Weight Watchers. I will be doing it online because I don't think the meetings would be worthwhile to me whatsoever. I plan to still adhere to high protein, low carb as much as possible... but I think a little bit of structure of paying more attention to my food choices, my activities, etc... will be good for me. I have 40 more pounds to lose, and I would like to do so by November.

We are going to Hawaii in November - more on that another time. While that isn't my main reason for choosing November as a time to reach my goal weight, it is certainly a little extra motivation and gives me something to look forward to. It's right at the beginning of Nov so I essentially have all of June, July, August, Sept and October to lose my last 40 pounds. I believe I can do it, but I also know that AFTER the body has already lost this much weight, it's harder. And as I get smaller, it gets harder to lose also. I have challenges with my ability to work out. This is going to take a lot of attention and determination.

I am going to do my best!!

Overall Recap....

WHAT A YEAR THIS HAS BEEN!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't deny SO MUCH HAS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER :) I have some challenges, and things are not totally smooth, but I have made very positive changes in my life and I have no doubt I can finish this journey. I am so much stronger and healthier and I can do so much more now.... it feels great. Thanks for following along :)

A Breakfast Idea

An egg cooked over medium inside a ring of red bell pepper... with a side of black beans and Morningstar Farms vegetarian sausage. (Forgot to take the pic before I started eating, oops). This was delicious! Saw the idea on Pinterest and we made it yesterday... it was so good and for me eliminates some carbs since when I cook an egg this style, I like it on toast. I didn't think I would like this, but I did a LOT! I couldn't finish all my beans but ate the rest.

And YES!!! I KNOWWWWW I owe you all my one year update. We haven't had a chance to take the official photos and measurements yet, but are planning to do so tomorrow morning, so will hopefully get those soon!!!

A Healthier Sweet Treat

I've been trying to cut back on sweets the last few weeks. One thing I loooove is ice cream. Even though I have no trouble eating it post op, it definitely does feel a little heavier in my stomach. I stick to small amounts.

A while back we came across a cool frozen yogurt place. It's sort of the concept of a Cold Stone or Marble Slab - all kinds of things you can mix into your frozen yogurt - except at this place, you make it yourself.\

I went for some vanilla and chocolate frozen yogurts, steered clear of all the candy options and just chose to top mine with some fresh strawberries.

It was delicious and actually really refreshing. I especially liked how it didn't give me the heavy feeling in my stomach that ice cream does. I think this is a perfect treat for me now.

Ian's was very colorful...

He had apple pie flavor frozen yogurt and strawberry banana, topped with stawberries and kiwis.

I found out later the difference between this frozen yogurt and regular ice cream is pretty drastic. It varies wildly by flavor but we're talking 80-160 cals and 0-3 grams of fat for like 1/2 cup... so definitely better than ice cream. And oh so yummy! If you have one of these around I definitely recommend it.

The Other Day...

I went to Lane Bryant in search of a new pair of shorts for summer. The smallest size I owned previously was a 20, which I've been wearing in my last couple of progress photos, but of course they are much too big now. I grabbed an 18 and a 16 to take into the dressing room with me. I felt optimistic so I tried the 16's first.

To my shock and amazement, they were too big. I changed and went to grab a size 14, figuring they would be too tight and I'd be in between the two sizes. To my even greater shock and amazement, they fit perfectly. Size 14. Fit. Perfectly.

I cried in the dressing room.

After collecting myself I decided to buy some new jeans too. The 14's seemed a bit snug so I bought 16, but they are actually kind of baggy so with those I think I'm right in between. But still... walking out with a 16 and a 14, I felt like I was walking on air.

Even though Lane Bryan's sizes run generous, the important thing is when I started I was wearing size 28 from that store. I have gone from their biggest size to their smallest size!!!!!

It still amazes me how much has changed. Today, I went grocery shopping and I had to pick up some items we were asked to bring to a party this weekend. Chips and soda... two things I haven't bought in almost a year. Just walking down those two aisles of the store was a strangely foreign experience. They were so unfamiliar and I couldn't believe how weird it felt.

That was a good reminder... things HAVE changed, so much. That even though lately I have struggled with some of my food choices... I have still come a very long way and there are TONS of things I do not even TOUCH anymore such as chips, soda, most fried foods and most fast food, that pretty much used to make up my ENTIRE diet.

This makes me feel good.

However, that's the bright side and I do need to look at the not so bright side also. My eating in Chicago wasn't great... I did as well as I could for the most part, but I had way too many sweets and desserts. When I got home I had gained 3 lbs... not too shabby for a vacation. Since I did a 5K while I was there and got a great workout at the waterpark, I'm sure that helped me not to gain even more. But then I was only home 1 day and went up to our timeshare with my husband. We took all kinds of good food with us, planning only to eat out for our favorite sushi a couple times and eat everything else at home. Unfortunately we both went into pig-out vacation mode and we ate candy, popcorn and sweets.

Night before last as we were going to bed, I exploded, telling him how awful I felt about how we were eating. He felt the same way. We realize there are both ups and downs when it comes to going through this together - we like to be bad together. But we can also talk about it and pull ourselves out of it together. When we got up the next morning, we threw away all the remaining candy, popcorn and junk (hello s'mores!) that we still had.

I told him what scares me the most is not gaining a couple pounds - I know that is temporary and easy to get rid of. What scares me is the lack of control I have been feeling over this behavior. It's wayyyy to familiar, and i know exactly where it will take me.

I swore I'd never say no to anything... but I think at least for a while, I have to say no to sweets. I need to get them out of my system. Other than my Starbucks twice per week, no other sweets. No candy, no chocolate, no desserts, no cookies, etc. And also watching my carbs more again. I am planning to be very strict about this at least until our one year appointment (which we are moving to June, at Ian's one year). Once I have all the junk out of my system, then I can decide when and IF to bring any back in. I used to be okay with a little here and there and I hope I can do that again. But right now, I can't... so I need to abstain. I never thought I would do this... but for now it is necessary. If I have it around I go nuts with it and can't stop myself. Somewhere along the way I have lost that. I think part of it is physical - when it's in your system you want more more more. Part of it is mental, and I had that part good so I think the physical of having it in my system is what is making it a lot harder. So for now... out of my system.

I've now been eating "right" for two days and I already feel so much better. This is how it SHOULD be. This is how it WILL be.

I'm not beating myself up, but rather picking myself up and moving forward to live the life I want to live :) I have more changes to make, more pounds to lose and more life to live! Whoo!

My Morning Cocktail

This is how I start my mornings. I get a 16oz cup of water and all my pills and gummies. I take my pills first (Prilosec for my antiacid, Celebrex for arthritis) with  a few sips of water and I eat my gummies - two multivitamin gummies and two vitamin C gummies. Then I have my morning protein shake. Afterward I eat my calcium chew (the red square - raspberry flavor calcium citrate chew from Bariatric Advantage) and pop the sublingual B-12 tablet under my tongue. Once that's done I finish drinking my water.

It may not look very appetizing, but it's really not bad. I kind of like having a "routine" to start my morning and it helps me make sure to remember to take everything. I usually take another 1-2 of the calcium chews throughout the day (you can only absorb so much at once). Those are the most recent addition - it took me a while to find a calcium citrate supplement I liked. I recommend them, taste sort of like a laffy taffy. I do NOT like the chocolate ones, but my hubby does.

The challenge is traveling. I have to take all of this with me, which isn't so bad, but remembering your "routine" when you are totally out of your element and sleeping weird hours and super busy... well, that's harder. I also won't have my protein shakes because there's really no way to take them with me. I might try to take powder, but I haven't decided yet.

I am going to do my best to do everything right on this trip :)

I Don't Make the Decisions Here...

"Sleevie" does. That's my sleeve/tummy. It's weird, I just had a great workout (swimming) and I was soooo hungry. Nothing at home appealed to me so I picked up some tuna and some hard boiled eggs from the gym cafe to bring home with me. I dished out maybe 2-3oz of tuna on my plate and a flatbread cracker. Also 1 hard boiled egg. I was able to eat only about 1/3 the tuna and the egg. Interesting, as the amount I put on my plate would typically be what I would eat.

So apparently my tummy has shrunk a little. I wasn't able to eat that much yesterday either... apparently the stuck pork issue on Sunday and not eating hardly anything that day has shrunk my capacity a little... I'll take it!!!!! I could really use that help. I listen to Sleevie and I never eat more that what Sleevie says to eat (unless it's on accident)... so hopefully my capacity will stay smaller for a bit!

Frustrated.

I worked out Sunday and Monday, which was great. My hip pain has been almost nonexistent since Sunday which is even MORE great. However since my Monday morning workout I've been having horrible pain in my left side. Not sure what to call it, it's partially my back, partially the front of my hip (but totally different than my other hip pain). All I did on Monday was a Leslie Sansone video, nothing unusual at all. I did one of the things I "knew I could do". And yet here I am, hurt. It's been REALLY bad. I can barely sleep, I have tossed and turned all night Mon night and last night. It hurts to walk around. I do have an appointment with the chiropractor today for an adjustment and a nerve block treatment. I'm really hoping that gets rid of this pain so I can get back to working out tomorrow. PLEASE?!
I was so relieved that my hip pain was better... then this popped right up. Muscles and nerves do crazy things, part of me wondered if something different is pinched and as soon as this lets up, the other pain will come back. But this pain is worse so I just want this to stop, even if my regular hip pain comes right back.
I just want to move. I want to be capable of working out 5 days a week, taking long walks, etc.

As far as the pouch test, we decided to do something a little different. We are having liquids all day, and two small, healthy, high-protein meals at night. Kinda like a VSG version of slim fast I guess :) It's been good the first two days. I've been hungry some, but not really any more than I usually am. It feels good to get a lot of the junk and carbs out of my system.

I've been having one of the Premier Protein shakes in the morning, and later in the day having a shake I make in the blender with 1 scoop of choc protein powder, a few slices of frozen strawberries, and milk or water. I made it with milk on Monday and got sick (maybe have a little problem with milk now?) so I made it with water yesterday and felt fine. Saves calories too I guess. I just added another 1/4 scoop of powder to get a little more protein. One day I had a 2nd carton of premier protein shake, one day I didn't.

Monday in the evening I had a meal of tuna salad and then a meal of apple and peanut butter. Yesterday I had cooked a chicken crock pot dinner, so that was dinner #1 (maybe 4 oz chicken?) and dinner #2 was the other 1/2 apple from the day before with peanut butter. (I don't eat apple and PB every day, but since I only eat 1/2 apple at a time, I tend to finish it the next day).

Let me tell ya, being on liquids sure makes you pee... a LOT! I am still drinking 16 oz of water or more in between meals, plus my meals being liquid all day. But it feels very good, very cleansing.

I think I am finally on track with this and I think 5 days of this will really help me to get refocused on proper low carb, high protein foods.

Now if I can just get moving and not be struck down by pain after simple workouts!!!!!! I am so annoyed!!!

Current Struggles at Nearly 10 Months Post Op

Alright guys it's time to have a talk all about the weight loss surgery. For those who come after me, and for all those interested, I need to reiterate that this is NOT easy.

Once your stomach capacity creeps back up, things get so much harder. I try to live a balanced eating life, get lots of protein, etc... but to also not have a diet mentality and say NO, NEVER to certain foods. I let myself have treats. I do think that is okay. However, they are too often these days and that is something I need to work on.

I wanted this type of surgery so that I CAN still eat sweets and fats and to be able to feel like I can eat pretty "normally". However, this means I have to make all the changes on my own that I would make if I had never had surgery. In the beginning I was VERY good at this and very strict. I think that is made obvious by the fact I reached about 93 lbs lost at 5 1/2 months post op which, for my type of surgery, is a LOT.

However here I am 4 1/2 months later and only 9 more pounds lost (102 lbs lost now). While it is fantastic I have continued losing, and maintaining, I have got to make some changes. I continue to get smaller (which means I burn less calories) and I continue to be able to eat more (6-8oz per meal, 5-6 meals a day now). I think my stomach capacity is pretty much leveled off now, and I can work with it, I just need to make the correct choices a LOT more often then I have been. I still want to lost another 30-50lbs and if I my current choices pretty much keep me maintaining NOW, at 208 lbs, then I'm sure it will be impossible to be 180 lbs or 160 lbs without changing what I am doing.

I am NOT one of the lucky people who is never hungry after surgery. I feel hunger many many times a day. True hunger. I need to start feeding this hunger with the things that will help it stay satisfied

Of course, as I mentioned before, fitness is a problem with my pain level and I haven't been able to do the things I wanted to do. However, I am definitely slacking and there ARE things I can do, I have just been bored of them and been stubborn about not wanting to do them, so I haven't been doing as much. That's the brutal truth there is I have been bullheaded about it. Because I can't do what I want to do, I have done hardly anything. It is time to make a list of the things I know I CAN do and get exercise 4-5 days a week for 30-60 mins each. PERIOD.

I don't really want to go into a detailed action plan here, but I am going to be getting refocused on making healthful food choices a good 90% of the time, far less treats than what I've been allowing myself, focus on more solid dense protein (yes I'm tired of chicken and turkey but I need to get over that and keep chugging). I am also going to focus on MORE exercise and MORE fun active things.

Hubby and I are planning to try the pouch test this week. A lot of post ops do it. I need to look up the specifics but I think the general idea is that for 5 days you repeat the stages of eating from immediately post op. Liquids, then soft/mushy, then soft solids. And ALL meals being 90%-100% protein. This is supposed to help accomplish two things - bring stomach capacity back down some (tighten in up) and also get a lot of sugars and junk out of your system and help you refocus on protein rich foods and eating properly.

I will try to report in more often over the next couple of weeks to let you all know how this stuff is going and if I am able to get my mindset back into a good place.

My friend Aslynn is doing so incredible and dear, so you know I am so happy for you, but I have to admit I am jealous because you are looking so good and so small (size 12 jeans!!). She and I have lost the same amount, but she started out smaller than me so she is of course smaller than me now too, and I'm jealous - but in a good way. In a motivating way. I looked at some new pics of her last night and it reminded me that I want that. I want size 12. I want to finish my journey, and THEN embark on the great task of learning to maintain it. I have gotten so comfortable with the progress I've made so far and that "I'm pretty happy right here"... but I do want more. I want at LEAST to weigh 180 lbs, even if I don't ever get to 160 lbs (I'm not sure where I want to settle). I have in my mind size 12. We shall see.

Anyway, I needed the reminder. The reminder that I'm not finished and I have more work to do. And that I have let my lifestyle slip. I'm lucky I haven't been gaining but if I continue on this path, I will.

You are never cured of obesity. I thought my mindset had changed 100%. I felt so on track, so confident, so changed. But lately I've been slipping, and I need to put a stop to that. I am sure that for the rest of my life I will have to be aware of these sorts of things and change my behaviors before I gain weight back. I'm okay with that. I will consider this my first big test. I've seen it, now I must follow through and do what I need to do.

Week 26 Update

No weight change to report this week. Booooo on sugar. The good news is I have cut WAY down and I am finally starting to feel the sugar cravings go away now that I've been really focusing on it for 3 days. :) I've been focusing on good protein choices, getting my water and cutting out the candy and other sugary items that were creeping in.

My SIX MONTH mark is coming up on Saturday!! So I will be weighing again and MAYBE there will be a change lol but I won't count on it too much. My post may or may not be ON Saturday because we have a really busy weekend planned.

Workouts this Week

Was sick for 4 days out of this week, had 2 workout days, and then really bad hip pain today. So not the best workout week, but at least I can say I worked out on the days I felt well. :)

Tuesday 11/16 - Leslie Sansone 3 Mile Weight Loss Bootcamp DVD (45 mins)
Wednesday 11/17 - Leslie Sansone 5 Day Slim Down DVD - Warm up, 4th Mile - Trim the Tummy, Cool Down (23 mins)

By the way, I will soon be posting a review of these DVDs :)

Hoping to get many more workouts in for this coming week!!


New Foods to Share
This week shall be referred to as "the week I accidentally bought tortillas when I already had a brand new package at home... now what?" :) I had been previously eating "tuna melts" made on these tortillas, and that was delicious, but I decided to try some new combinations this week! The tortillas I use are Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas - Fajita Size (which are the smallest).

Pizza Quesadilla
Hubby invented this. He made his with shredded 2% Italian and shredded 2% Mexican cheese, about 6 slices of Hormel Turkey Pepperoni, and Oregano.

I had a jar of spaghetti sauce in the fridge from when we made pizza burger - so I added some sauce to mine! I heated it up in the microwave first and added it into my quesadilla before folding it over. Messy to eat but DELICIOUS. I also put garlic and a little parmesan in mine.

Turkey Melt
Pretty simple - turkey and cheese! I ripped 3 slices of turkey breast up into several pieces and put them in the skillet first, turning them a couple times til they were warmed up and just slightly browned. Then I added them into my tortilla with some american cheese and grilled it up in the skillet.

As tasty as it looks, it tasted even BETTER. So yummy!!


These both came out great and now I am thinking of lots of possibilities. Ham or chicken would both be great, changing the variety of cheese and adding other things into it. I also thought of doing breakfast versions, like say, ham, egg beater and cheese. So maybe I will have more to share next week :)


Adventures in Shopping

Went back to Savers last weekend and picked out a couple of dresses. I don't have pics of both of them yet, but here is one. It is a light robin's egg blue with very dark chocolate brown. I originally bought a brown belt to go with it and help break up the pattern, but the belt broke... so I'm holding it up in these pics. I am headless because I still had a towel on my head and no makeup :)

Not bad for a $12 dress huh?

Since the belt broke and I didn't really want to try to find another one, I got creative hunting through my closet. I decided that this dark brown piece I had looked great with the dress!

Now I just needed shoes!!! (The silver ones in the first photo are cheapies I bought in desperation once and they are supremely uncomfortable!)

This week I've shopped at many shoe stores and have discovered I USUALLY fit into a MEDIUM WIDTH shoe now. This is ridiculous to me, having come from EXTRA EXTRA WIDE WIDTHS. Not all, but most medium widths fit me in a 9, 9.5, or 10. I still have many issues like the bone spur on my left heel and the fact one foot is bigger than the other, so it is still hard to find something but at least i stand a CHANCE now! Today I found one pair of brown strappy shoes for $5, and a pair of chocolate brown boots for $30.

The photo quality is CRAPPY because I took this at night with a dim overhead light in our room and tried to lighten the pic. I'll be sure to get better pics later :)

This is my FIRST EVER PAIR OF KNEE HIGH BOOTS. EVER!!! They are VERY VERY stretchy in the calf which is the only reason they fit. None of the other ones I tried on fit, although some came close. A couple more inches off my calves and I should be able to wear any boot I want... and I can't wait because man, I like boots!!!

That's it for this week. Hope to be back with my 6 month update over the weekend!!

24 Week Update & Hubby's Progress

Hey everybody. Firstly, I'm sorry my update is late, and that also there is no video this week. My family is going through a difficult time and we got some bad news last night. I will elaborate eventually, but I can't just yet. If you are the praying type, I would ask for your prayers for my family. Thank you and I will provide more information soon.

Also thank you for all the kind comments on the last post. I wasn't upset or angry or sad, just kind of perplexed and didn't understand why he would do that :) All is well.


As for this week's update, there have been some pros and some cons.


Cons:

- my lower back and hip pain have been especially bad this week. Possibly due to getting new athletic shoes. When your back is this weak, the simplest changes can throw everything off.

-On Monday night I tried to work out at the gym, but my body was NOT having it. I did the treadmill for 5 mins and gave up because the pain was intolerable. I switched to the ARC trainer and managed 10 mins, but then had to stop. My hip was just killing me and no amount of stretching was helping at ALL.

- Halloween candy is still around, and I'm still eating quite a bit of it. I've kind of had my fill and we are getting rid of it this weekend. Don't need any more.



Pros:

- Even though I couldn't work out as much as I would have liked, I still got some activity - a couple workouts plus a whole day of shopping.

- I cooked real recipes twice this week (actually twice in the same day!) and we ate off those for a few days this week.

- Had a decent loss this week, despite the cons mentioned above.



My weight yesterday was:

217.2 - that's a loss of 2.2 lbs this week. Still not as fast as I had been used to, but I will take it over a plateau any day :) I may not make my -100 lbs mark by the 20th like I wanted to, but I am super pleased things are moving again.



Workouts this Week:

Friday 10/29 - Swimming laps, 23 mins
Monday 11/1 - 5 mins treadmill, 10 mins ARC trainer, stretching (bad pain day)

I worked out Thurs and Fri, but those technically count toward next week's weigh in. At least I am getting a bit better now and able to work out more again. Stupid pain.. leave me alone please.



Some New Foods This Week:

I picked these up because I haven't had a muffin since before surgery. I LOVE muffins, ESPECIALLY with cream cheese. One of these is just the right size for my tummy right now. It's basically just the top of the muffin. They are frozen, so they will keep even if I don't eat them too often. You zap it in the micro for 18 seconds and it's ready to go. (Or you can thaw at room temp for 30 mins.) I put an individual pack of light cream cheese on top of it and YUM! Since it's higher carb and lower protein, I wouldn't do this every day, but it tastes GREAT for once in a while.

Not technically NEW for me, but I haven't shown a photo before. This is a protein smoothie from my gym - this one has strawberries, pineapple, 27g whey protein, skim milk and nonfat yogurt. Delicious. The one in the background is Ian's with all the same stuff but blueberries instead of pineapple. We order the kids size, but with the full amount of protein.

Double Bean Quesadilla. I made this up this week. It has refried beans, seasoned black beans (pre packaged), and cheese. Tasted good, but SO MESSY because of the sauce the black beans come in. Probably won't make it again. It did keep me full for like a gazillion years though.

Turkey Club from the food court at Super Target. I was grocery shopping and needed to eat (had been out a while already) before I did my shopping... was feeling weak. It was tasty but I had no interest in the bread and it had WAY too much bacon. I pushed most of the bacon off and ate about 2/3 of the turkey and cheese... threw the rest away. Tasty, decent price ($3) and got the job done in a pinch... but not something I'd go out of my way to plan to order.

Taco Chicken Tenders - one of my recipes this week! Chicken tenderloins (1 lb) rinsed and patted dry. Add as much taco seasoning as you like, patting it onto both sides of the chicken so it sticks. Cook it in a skillet over medium-high heat, flipping every 2 minutes til cooked through. (It took like 5-6 mins). Remove from skillet, squeeze half a lime over it all, and serve with some light sour cream. These were very tasty and very moist. A great all-protein meal. From the 4 Ingredient Diabetic Cookbook.

Pizza Burgers - another all-protein recipe I cooked this week. It's from the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. One major tweak - we didn't bother with hamburger buns. I also purchased premade patties. What I did was sprinkle the seasonings across them all and then take each patty, roll it into a ball and reshape it. I felt it worked well and then they all come out the same size in the end :) Doesn't need to be done, but I had bought these already so I tried it, and I actually liked doing it that way. I will have to post the full recipe later - I used my own concoction of seasonings in my own amount so I didn't really follow it. I used oregano, garlic chips, garlic powder, garlic pepper, a ground pepper blend (instead of red pepper flakes), salt and some Mrs Dash onion & herb seasoning. We grilled up the burgers on the George Foreman grill, adding sliced mozzarella on top and melting it. Topped with some Classico Tomato & Basil marinara sauce and then a dash of parmesan. Delicious!!!!!!! We really enjoyed this meal. We each can eat 1 patty, so we had it two nights in a row.



Some other Tidbits...

A quick little Calcium supplement review. These are both from Celebrate. The one on the left is the chewable calcium supplement. The one on the right is the liquid supplement which includes both multivitamin AND calcium.

The chewables are pretty hard to deal with, we feel. My friend hated them so gave them to us, and we pretty much hate them too. Today I tried the liquid - not so bad! The liquid includes multivitamin AND calcium, so I could stop taking my gummy vitamins if I am taking this. You have to take it twice a day though. It tasted totally decent, kind of like a koolaid. You empty the packet into 8 oz of cold water and shake to mix. I poured it in a glass after shaking it in a bottle. Might be ordering these to try for a while as I think it will be a good way to get everything in. But at $45 per 30 day supply, and the fact we BOTH need it, that's pretty pricey. So we'll see.


My hair is still thinning a LOT... Ovation isn't really helping. I decided to get my hair cut a bit shorter to help it look fuller. I am also using a protein spray I got from my stylist, makes your hair appear a bit fuller also. Here is me and my stylist Tarah :)

And FINALLY.... My husband Ian's 5 month progress photos from Nov 3rd. He has lost 70 lbs and is feeling great!


5 Months all in a row, front view:

5 Months all in a row, side view:

Start vs. 5 Months, Front View:

Start vs 5 Months, Side View:

Start vs 5 Months, Back View:

So proud of him!! He has gone from tight 2X shirts to loose 1X shirts, ready to start getting into some larges. His pants size has gone from 54 to 44!

That's it for this week - sorry so long. I probably won't have a chance to post again until next week's update. I'm expecting a bit of a tough and taxing week. I'm trying to still take good care of myself and keep on my path, but definitely have some bigger fish to fry at the moment. Have a great week everyone.

Week 23 Update

(I'm not going to repeat everything from my video, so if you can't watch it now, please do go back and watch it when you can.)

This is my first crack at doing WEEKLY videos instead of just monthly. I had PLENTY to say this week. I really enjoy making the videos so I will be trying to do so every week and see if I can keep up with that :)

This Week's Weigh-in...

219.4 ... a loss of 1.6lbs from last week's weigh in. Things stayed the same the first 4 days of the week, then I stayed off the scale til today... so it must have happened in the past couple days. I am only weighing in once a week from now on. I'm glad things are moving again, but I am definitely going to stop focusing so much on the scale.

Workouts This Week...
Fri 10/22 4 Mile Super Challenge DVD (Leslie Sansone)
Sat 10/23 1.0 mile walk in 20 mins
Sun 10/24 1.8 mile walk in 40 mins
Tues 10/26 1.6 mile walk in 30 mins
Wed 10/27 40 mins ARC trainer- level 4 hill intervals, stretching

My personal training on Monday got canceled so I walked Tuesday instead. :) I have workouts planned already for tomorrow and Sunday. Really ENJOYING my workouts this week! Here's a photo from our Sunday walk...

Some Things I Ate This Week...

I have been taking a lot less food pics lately since I eat a lot of the same stuff over and over, but I do need to get better about taking pics again. We had dinner at my aunt's house on Sunday and I didn't take pics of anything!!

Here's the ones I do have from this week...

Two round whole wheat crackers (Archer Farms), each with an ounce of chicken salad (Market Pantry). About 1/4 cup of grapes and 1/4 cup of cheese and salami diced up. I did finish it but it turned out to make me a little too full.

1/4 cup Campbell's creamy tomato soup and 1 small fajita sized whole wheat tortilla with about 2oz of tuna and 2 slices american cheese. I was only able to eat 1/2 of the tortilla shown here so I ended up saving the other half and having it later with another 1/4 cup of soup. Very comforting on a cold day. Since the soup container has 2 cups, it's going to take me a while to get through it! Ha.

That's all the news for this week. I had to cut time from my video where I was talking about some great blogs I've come across this week and how timely they were... they really spoke to me and helped me change my mindset also. I'll do a separate post soon sharing some of these blogs and the insight I've gained from them!

Adventures in Eating Out

This is gonna be a long one! I haven't posted much food lately so I've built up a lot of photos from my adventures in eating out. From a family BBQ, to on-the-go, to restaurants... I've been doing it all. I don't usually CHOOSE to. When Ian and I have the choice we stay home! But I have always planned to live as normal of a life as possible post-op and saying no to social engagements is not really something I want to do... within reason of course!

So here I am going to share my recent adventures in eating out :)


FAMILY BBQ

We've had a lot of family BBQ's this summer but thankfully the last couple have had healthier fare (and not just bratwurst!) At the last one, my aunt and grandma prepared shrimp skewers with pineapple and veggies. VERY tasty.

Here is my plate:

I had not tried rice yet so I wanted to try it. After one bit I decided I didn't care... it tasted blah. It's not worth eating anything that doesn't taste GREAT, right? So I ignored that. The bread on the other hand was SO delicious, especially with REAL butter on it. I took a VERY small piece and enjoyed every bite. In the end I left some hard crust behind, and I left some veggies behind. Here was what I did not eat:

While I didn't eat any of this, I wanted to share it. It's called Caprese, and it's similar to bruschetta without the bread. Thick slices of mozzarella cheese topped with tomato and basil, drenched in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

It's not my thing, but Ian had one and loved it. It's a side dish involving protein, so definitely a score for a post-op.


Dessert I couldn't get a photo of because it was dark outside (and it didn't look pretty either lol)... but so delicious. She cut 3 huge peaches in half and put them on the grill. Once they were grilled for a few minutes, a scoop of vanilla ice cream went into the hole where the pit used to be. This was SO GOOD! I ate most of my ice cream and maybe 1/3 of the peach, I was too full to have any more. I did wait about 40 minutes in between dinner and dessert.


HOSPITAL CAFETERIA

A couple days after the BBQ, I spent half a day at the hospital with my mom while my dad was having a heart procedure done. (Don't worry, everything is great now!) I thought ahead and packed a lunch box full of stuff I could eat while I was there. My mom got hungry so we went to the cafeteria, and when I saw they actually had some good stuff, I decided to get a meal there too. For their salad bar you just take a plate and put anything you want from that whole area on the plate and they weigh it. I opted for some cold grilled chicken strips, carrots, and hummus.


Here's my plate, photo taken from afar so you can get an idea of the small plate size on the tray.

Here is what I was NOT able to eat:

I put the chicken and carrot in my lunch box containers and saved it for later :)



OLIVE GARDEN


My sister-in-law and I go to Olive Garden every single time we have lunch together. Because of surgery, it's been a while - we hadn't been since a week before my surgery!! Let's talk for a second about what I USED to consume when I would go to Olive Garden. 1-2 bowls of soup, 2 plates of salad, at least 3-4 breadsticks and 2 glasses of peach tea. Wow.


This time? 1/2 a bowl of soup (which is about 1/2 a cup) and 1/3 of a breadstick. Of course no drink.

It looks like a big bowl of soup, but it's shallow. I ate about half and brought the other half home, which I measured and it was 1/ 2 a cup so I assume the total amount was about 1 cup. That little piece of breadstick is all the bread I had. Big difference from having 4 full breadsticks! I did not eat any salad this time. I wanted to get the most protein from my meal, and also I haven't tried salad yet and I've heard it's hard to digest post op so I didn't want to try it for the first time in public ;)


Closeup of my favorite soup, yum!

And here is my adorable sister in law, Melissa, about to enjoy her lunch:

One last thing I should mention about Olive Garden - since I didn't plan on eating salad, and very little bread, I ordered JUST the bowl of soup instead of the soup, salad, breadsticks lunch and so I saved $2.



ANOTHER STARBUCKS STOP

So I had this one day where I UNEXPECTEDLY ended up being out for a really long time. I had this Best Buy reward coupon I had to spend that day. I went there first and didn't like anything all that much so I decided to check a couple other stores for similar items before deciding what to use the coupon for at Best Buy. I hit 2 stores before I had to make it to my 1-hour workout class. After that I was already hungry but I thought I could hit a couple more stores before going home. Then I kept finding myself near another store I could check. I knew I NEEDED to eat. I pulled through Starbucks and asked for a snack plate - but they were out! I knew a pastry was not in the cards so I decided to go with a breakfast sandwich. Ham, egg, and cheese.

It was a really thick bread so I barely touched that and focused on the insides. But the cheese stuck to the bread so I did have a LITTLE bit of it :) Here is my leftovers:

It tasted SO GOOD, I thought for sure I just ate 500 calories LOL but you gotta do what you gotta do when you are out and need to eat, right? I was pleasantly surprised though when I got home that it was not "that bad"... the stats are: 370 Calories, 16 grams Fat, 32 grams Carbs, 23 grams Protein. I have no idea how to calculate how much of this was in the bread, but I would assume at least 100 cals was the bread (probably more) and at least 15-20grams of the carbs were probably in the bread too. This is not a choice I'd go out of my way to make, but I think it was pretty decent for the situation. And definitely tasty. It also kept me full for about 4 hours!!!


RED LOBSTER

While Ian was on his business trip, I went out to dinner with my aunt and grandma. Their choice was Red Lobster. I figured this would be easy, shrimp and fish are great choices. My dilemma though was that I hate any of that stuff re-heated. I decided to go with grilled shrimp because I could eat it cold after the fact. I paid extra for asparagus as a side which was silly since I barely ate a couple of pieces and it was an extra $3. Ha. Anyway here is the GIGANTIC plate I got:

I decided to use my bread plate to make a smaller portion for myself:

And here is what I left behind:

I also ate 1/2 a biscuit... that was gone so fast it didn't make it into a picture :) Ha.

Overall this is ridiculously overpriced and of no value to me. I sent home ALL the veggies with my grandma. I saved the shrimp but still couldn't get into the idea of eating it the next day so my husband ate it when he got home. With tip I spent $20!! Sigh. So while it was healthy, it was definitely the most I have spent on any meal and it really felt like a waste.

Well that's it for my eating out adventures over the past few weeks. Since I am about to be going on a NINE DAY TRIP (yikes) I'm sure I will have lots to say when I get back about how I dealt with eating away from home for that long.