Breakfast

So while out n about getting my blood drawn, I realised t@ I needed 2 get some protein n me. I've been up since around 8 or so its time to eat. I'm currently @ the egg & I, trying out their egg petite-which is 1 egg, one sausage, some potatos n toast. The eggs were good, very good. So was the sausage n the few potatos I ate. All n all, I'd have 2 say this is a good place for bariatric patients. Plenty of protein and the option 2 get egg whites or egg substitues for $0.99 is not a bad thing. I have not seen the kids menu yet but I'm sure its good, since it seems more resonable to order from that than the adult menu.
So I saw the kids menu and its not bad. I may actually order from t@ next time and hopefully get 2 switch some things out.

New Idea…

I think I want to try to cook something new everyday. I can’t really eat most of it, but I have this desire to cook. Now that I’m no longer hungry in the same sense, I find my desire to cook nearly overwhelming. Is this what they mean when they say you find a new obsession after wls? It feels like the same one, only a different focus. Now I want to cook. I want to stay home and cook and all day, finding new recipes, trying new things. I can’t explain it. I always wanted to be a chef, but something held me back. It might have been my love of food, not wanting it to be damaged by the demands of school and structure and having to be perfect. Now that I’ve had the surgery, the urge is back, strong. I don’t really get hungry at the food, though some smells bring back a mouth watering sensation. I think it’s more like a memory than anything else. Cuz once I eat it, even if it’s a taste…I’m pretty much done for the day. I don’t need anything else. I also realized that I get hungry only cuz I know I’m supposed to. If I don’t think about my schedule for a minute of when I should eat and when I should drink…I go off the grid and just drink all day. Then, at the last minute, I go “Oh crap, I should be eating.” and then I go and eat some protein and I’m done. I think that would make a good cook in the kitchen, but I can’t be sure. At least I wouldn’t gain a lot of weight nibbling on everything.

I do have a few ideas on opening my restaurant(s) but I’m still on the fence. I def want a place for bariatric patients to eat and not feel that they are wasting their money. More like a place to eat for all people who are on diets or some kind of special eating plan. Hmmm…ideas are flowing now.

Fish tacos

I can't remember when i made this. I just know that I'd had a weird craving for it after watching a Diner's, Drive-in's and dives episode. It took me a long minute to figure out just how to make this without risking dumping or overfilling my pouch. I only had one, which was fine. Satisfied the craving and it was good.  
Just using a breaded, packaged fish stick and viola, you have fish tacos. Now, i do have other kinds of fish in the house, but after a night of work, i didn't want to mess with anything that required me to think to hard. This will def be on the menu again, except the rice. even after cooking it in the microwave, it was still crunchy. Damn brown rice in a bag. *sigh* I'm gonna need a new cooking method for the brown rice.
Which reminds me, i need to work on next month's cooking schedule. Hmmm...

Dumping

This is a dreaded reaction to eating too much sugar or carbs, in which your stomach cramps, you might have diarrhea, sweats, upset stomach, vomiting, nausea, other horrible things.

I’ve been dreading this happening to me since the surgery, avoiding sugar at all costs. But lately, I’ve had the worst gas ever. I know, you really want to know this. It started at the beginning of the week and has lasted nearly the entire time. Sometimes it would dissipate and then I’d eat something and it would come back. So, I’ve suffered through it, thinking that I was just me. Only today did I realize that it was my dumping, after about a bite of cake for someone’s birthday. I GET GAS WHEN I DUMP! WTF? That is my dumping. I don’t know if I’m happy or sad about this. I mean…really?

So with that figured out…hopefully, I can deal with this in the correct way, which is to further restrict my sugar intake until I can figure out just what my limit is and deal with it.

Shopping excursion

I went shopping the other day because let’s be honest, saggy crotch is not a sexy look…on anyone. So I went to Kohl’s with a GC from my mother, intent on only getting some pants for work. Did not work out that way. I spent the whole thing and to be honest, it was a good thing. trying on pants has never been so fun or exciting or daunting in my whole life. I always knew when I’d gained a size and I adjusted my shopping to take that into account. Today was not like that at all. I took at least three pairs of different sized pants into the dressing room, completely unsure of what size I needed. So I started with a size 18w and those were still too big. Went down to a size 16w and those are still too big. So I went to a size 16 in missus’s. Those were a bit snug, but they fit. I ended up with two pairs of khaki’s in the 16w and two pairs of jeans in the 16 missus’s. I think the only reason the 16’s were snug is because it’s that time of the month…which is okay. I’ll be down another size by the end of the month so it’s not going to stop me. I’m also fitting into an XL in shirts. A far cry from the 18/20 I was wearing little more than 3 months ago. Whoo hoo!

Because of all this, I got rid of a few things in my closet. That felt good to, so see clothes going out that no longer fit, new clothes going in the smaller size. I even fit a pair of boxers I bought too small before surgery, planning on fitting into them once I got through surgery. Fitting into them is an accomplishment for me and I feel very good. I’ll be taking pictures soon and posting them.

Eating at parties…

So today was a baby shower for the Hubby’s co-workers. Met a lot of new people and there was some good food there. I nibbled on a bit everything, though I was careful to not eat foods that I had questions about. Hummus and a piece of pita, some pretzel bites filled with peanut butter (yum) and half a devilled egg. Some addintional protein with a bit of beef tenderloin from a slider. Even with all that, I still ate too much. Not on purpose mind you. I was very careful in what I ate, but I still made a misstep somewhere in my eating choices. Actually, I think it was the half a small cupcake that I nibbled on after having eaten. I thought, incorrectly is seems, that if I just waited a bit, there would be some room in my tummy for it. I was sadly mistaken…

No matter, I enjoyed myself immensely and don’t regret it much. I look at it as my high fat day or my treat day and now I’m good for the week.

My three month photo update. Very proud of how far I’ve come. Still about 45 pounds to go but I’m feeling good about it.

Things are changing…

I’m down 22.5 inches overall and a total of 45 pounds lost. Every time I look in the mirror, I see a new person. It’s a bit weird. Sometimes, I catch myself just checking my new body out, wondering what else is going to come. My pants are huge now, as are most of my shirts and bras. I don’t wanna go get new clothes yet, since I’m still loosing about 5 lbs. a week. I want to get to a more steady weight, then blow through all my savings *LOL*

Food news: I can not eat raw veggie's at this stage. I’m on solids, but salads, steamed veggies and a few other things like that send me to the bathroom every time.  I’m hoping that in a few months, I’ll be able to get back on them and enjoy them. Friut…we are still working up to that. Sad really since I love it so much, but I don’t want to dump, so I gotta go slow in the foods. Pasta’s and breads are good for me as well, though in moderation and only the wheat variety.

Extra: Started working out last week and I’m feeling good. I still don’t like it, but I’m feeling good about it. I’ve dropped a few more pounds since starting, so it’s really helping out a lot with the weight loss. I’m only doing about 30 min a day, but that still helps a lot in keeping the weight off and shedding even more. Once “spring” hits here, I’ll be able to ride the bike places. I’m really waiting for the doc’s to give me the go ahead for swimming. Man…that’s gonna just be the shit when I can get back in the pool!

Measurements…

3 months out

Goal weight: 165

Weight now: 211

46 more lbs. to go

Neck: 16 inches

Upper Arm: 13 inches

Chest: 42

waist: 41

hip: 46

thigh: 22.5

clothing size: >1x

I’m somewhere in between the sizes of a 1x which is a 16/18. My 22 pants are huge on me as are the pants that were too small before the surgery. They were marked a 20 I think. (I’ll have to go check). So yay me…I’m on the right track now.

So as I shop around the grocery store and contemplate what to make for dinner, it hits me that my choices are severly limited. I'd like to make some pizza but the carb intake would have me dumping 5 min after eating. What is a girl to do? With a limit of about 15 grams of carbs per meal, a lot of options are closed off to me. I'm sure that later in life I'll be ok eating some things, right now I'm at a serious loss. What happened to all the atkins friendly things they used have? I could really use some ideas on what do, esp concerning the pizza.

Stir-fry night

I must say, I did not think it was going to go over well. With all the flavors and different textures, I was sure that something would get stuck and I would be in pain…again. Only, I wasn’t. The vegetables were nice and tender, the chicken just right. I seem to be eating quite a bit of chicken these days. Must have something to do with there being a lot of protein in it. either way… I need more ways to cook it. For the stir fry, since I can’t eat the white rice, I cooked up some whole wheat Israeli couscous and put the stir fry on top. Pretty tasty. I did not manage to eat the whole plate, but it still hit the spot.

Experimenting…

I’ve been cooking a lot lately, trying to figure out what I want, what I can eat, what I can’t. I’ve learned that I can not eat vegetables the way that I used to. I used to eat steamed broccoli, asparagus and Brussels sprouts. Now…my stomach just does not agree with me anymore when I do that. I need to cook them till they are nearly nothing, soggy masses and then…I can eat them. Damn! That upsets me on so many levels, it’s not funny. So the other day, I wanted to make sure that what was the issue was. I made the following menu, cooking the sprouts the way I normally do. Everything went well, the chicken was nice and moist and the potatoes were…okay. the sprouts…had me clutching the porcelain god in agony. I may have to try it again later in the year, when my stomach is better and more healed. For now…boiling food is going to have to be the way to go.

The Husband’s plate

 

My plate:

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging 
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed 

 

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat up 3 tablespoons olive oil. When oil starts to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

 

Curried Sweet Potatos

 

Ingredients

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use a little more)
• 1 pinch cayenne

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450. Halve the sweet potatoes and cut ech piece lengthwise into quarters. If they are big, cut each piece into thirds.
2. Toss with the oil, curry powder, salt, and cayenne in a large bowl.
3. Arrange in a single layer on a large nonstick baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until browned and crisp, about 35-40 minutes.

   Brussels Sprouts

• 1 bag frozen Brussels Sprouts
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon of pepper
• 5 tablespoon of olive oil

 

1. Preheat oven to 450. Coat sprouts in olive, salt, pepper.
2. cook for 30-40 minutes.