Spicy scramble

Spicy Scramble!

 

Eggs have become my best friend for breakfast. They are so quick to make and you can throw just about anything in them and they turn out to be so yummy! For this, I made 4 servings which are perfect for my sleeve. The serving pictured above is two servings. Here's what you need:

• Three eggs (mix in a bowl)
• Red bell pepper, diced
• Green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• Pepper Jack Cheese (I used two thin slices of Sargento cut into pieces)
• One jalapeno, cut into rings
• 1/4c diced green onion
• Cilantro, diced
• Olive Oil
• Salt, Pepper, and Garlic salt to taste

In a pan, I added the olive oil with the bell peppers and jalapeno until they were almost fully cooked. Then I added the spinach and cooked until wilted, added garlic salt. I then stirred in the remaining ingredients until the eggs were cooked how I like them.

I did top mine with avocado as well. The only things not included in the nutrition facts are the avocado and the olive oil.

If you don't want it too spicy, omit or use less jalapeno.

Holiday Party

Saturday was our annual holiday party. I knew it was going to be my cheat day for the next two weeks (I'm giving myself one on Christmas as well). They catered a Mexican buffet. I am proud of myself to sticking just to fajitas, with not tortilla. However--I did have a lot of alcohol that night, but I'd like to think that all of the dancing I did, I worked off a lot of the calories :)

 

Sunday's weigh-in! I've lost 4 lbs!! It hasn't been a week yet since my first re-weigh in, but Sundays will be my weekly weigh-ins. I'm quite happy about this number :) Any loss is good (and I know I will have to keep telling myself that). I didn't put this weight back over night, it is not going to come off over night either.

Taking Ownership

After having a mental breakdown a few nights ago, I've decided no more. Yeah...my last few blog posts have said that, but after stepping on the scale today for the first time in months, I have to be real. It's time to get healthy again.

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Today is a new day.

Breakfast:

-Starbucks K-cup Vanilla Coffee, Great Value Vanilla Creamer, splenda
-2 Eggs scrambled with zuchinni

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN :)

I was a devil...in a red dress. Yup, wore a bright red dress......AND high heels! (They came off after about an hr and a half lol)

50lbs!

It's been almost two weeks since I updated, and I do apologize! I hit the 50lb mark last week! I'm now down another half pound or so, weighing in at 241.8. This is me last week :) I still look the same a half pound lighter haha.

Look Ma! Only One Chin!!

Stepped on the scale (yes...I haven't waited til my weigh in day, I just cannot do it!!) this morning, and I'm down 45lbs!!! Weighed in at 247. It's going to be such a victory when I get below 240!!

I think my forehead is growing! haha.

Last night for dinner I made a super yummy simple dinner. When my husband and I went on vacation to Kuaui last March, we had an "island favorite" which is called Moco Loco--I just did mine with ground turkey instead of beef.

You take a scoop of rice, top it with scrambled egg, and a hamburger patty, and cover in gravy!

For the turkey patties, I mix 1 pkg (I think it's like 1.25lbs?) with half of a white onion diced fine, 4 garlic cloves finely diced, and some Worcestershire sauce. Spices I added were garlic powder, pepper, and Mrs. Dash. Mix using your hands. Shape into thin patties, cook on the stove top until no longer pink.

Egg White Omelet

I've never had an egg white omelet, and this was really good!

What you need:

Egg Whites
Spinach
Ham (I used deli meat)
Garlic
Mozzarella Cheese

Putting a very small amount of olive oil in a pan, put a hand full of fresh chopped spinach. Cook until it's wilted down. Add ham & diced garlic to pan. Cook until the garlic is browned but do not over cook. Place in a bowl, set aside.

Place a little margarine or use non stick cooking spray on the bottom of your frying pan. Pour your egg whites.(I used great value brand pure egg whites in the carton. I didn't measure the amount, but it was enough to cover the bottom of my small frying pan.) Once the whites start to show almost cooked through, pour your mixture of spinach, ham, and garlic on half of the omelet. Top with a small handful of mozzarella cheese.

Fold over the omelet, cooking on each side for a minute or two until done.

YUM!

Teriyaki Chicken

This is such a quick meal!

You can use a boneless skinless breast or thigh for this meal. The thighs usually come out really good!

I take a pyrex pan, spray with non stick spray, pour teriyaki premade marinade over the chicken (Lawry's brand, great value brand, etc., found in the BBQ sauce aisle). Top with sesame seeds (optional). Cook at 375 for about 40 minutes.

Once it's done, I like to slice the chicken and spoon over extra marinade from the pan onto the chicken!

No more daily weigh-ins

Now that my scale says I'm 250lbs (The doctor's scale said 250lbs when I went there, but his scale is always a few pounds lower than mine), I will no longer be weighing my self every day. I will weigh in twice a week--Wednesday & Saturday.

This is going to be hard--but I do get frustrated when the scale doesn't move down, even if I feel "skinny" that morning. haha.

My clothes are starting to not fit me--pants are loose in the legs & waist, and my shirts are really big on my shoulders and my sides (under my arm pits...I didn't realize how much fat I had there!), but the summer is coming to an end, and I don't want to invest into clothes that I will not be able to wear next summer. It's still too hot to buy winter clothes as well. I'm thinking I may check ebay for some deals.

Just spit it out!

Getting very full from a meal is very uncomfortable. You get that pain in your stomach, and it feels like the food is sitting at the top of your throat, ready to come up (because it probably is!), but you STILL take that one, last, yummy bite....

I ask myself three questions as I'm chewing that last bite.

1. Am I still "starving?" No. 
2. Is my stomach growling? No.
3. Is my stomach full and satisfied? Yes.

 Well, I've been telling my self to just "spit it out." So I walk over to the trash and spit it out.

Now  I just have to convince myself to not even put that last bite in my mouth! I think it's the battle with "head hunger."

I'm so use to eating this large plate of food, even though it's been more than a month since I had a serving like that...I put my food on this small plate and I tend to always put more than I can handle because it's still hard to imagine that I'm going to get full off of that amount.

Anyone else have any tips or advice?

1 month post op check up!

Today was my 4 week post op check up!

The doctor is very happy with my 31lb weight loss. He said I'm right on target, and should be loosing anywhere from 1.5-3lbs a week.

The only thing he suggested was that I step up my exercising to EVERYDAY...and strap on a back pack full of phonebooks and put on ankle weights while I walk to build muscle....I guess it makes sense. He said that with all the intake of protein, your body needs to do something with it,and while some weeks you may not loose pounds, you will loose inches when that protein turns into muscle.

I see him again in one month instead of two weeks since I'm doing so well :) Yay me! haha. Here is a picture I took yesterday.

Shelly's Baked Ricotta

Last night for dinner I made Shelly's Baked Ricotta! Wow it was so good! If my pouch weren't so small I'd be going for seconds! You can find the recipe in her blog.

When calculating one portion of the mixture, (Mine made 4 servings) It came out to 198 calories, 12.2g fat, 6g carbs, 17g protein.

I bought these small containers from Walmart to freeze the left over portions.

I also got this great pan from Walmart as well that made the portions! It was perfect!

This is the pan I bought! It will have many uses and it was only about $10 :)

100lbs to go!

The scale finally moved again! I'm down 27lbs total, current weight is 265. I have exactly 100lbs to loose to reach my goal weight of 165lbs. 100 seems like so much weight to loose...but I can do it! I turn 30 next April and I want to start my 30's off to a GREAT start!

I doubt I will loose all 100 by then, but I hope to be pretty darn close!

One day at a time.....

First Post Op Check-up!

Day 13!

I had my first post-op visit today with my doctor. He's happy with my progress and has progressed me on to pretty much all foods that are soft. I'm so glad to be able to start cooking again and trying new recipes! Not to mention, being able to actually chew foods haha.

He removed the taps from my scars (well, still forming scars), there are no signs of an infection. He also cleared me for any physical activity and wants me to push myself on the treadmill. He says my stomach is about 80% healed and I won't be able to "hurt it" with exercise or other physical activity.

I did tell him that I was still feeling exhausted at times, especially while walking. He said it will probably last about another week.

I go back in two weeks, the day I go back to work. Boohoo! Work? Blah!

Last night I had Weight Watcher's Taco Soup (recipe is below) for dinner. I only had a little over 1/4 cup and 2 saltine crackers, it was so good!

The next big goal I'm setting for myself is to weigh 250lbs. That will be my pre-pregancy weight from nearly 8 years ago. That's 17lbs to go! Hoping to accomplish this by Sept 1!

Taco Soup Recipe:

1 15oz can tomato sauce
2 cans of turkey chili
1lb ground turkey, cooked
1 can black beans
1 sm can diced green chilies
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 packet of hidden valley ranch
1 packet taco mix
1 1/2c water
1c frozen corn (I did not add corn because I cannot eat this yet)

Heat all contents and serve! Can top with diced onion and cheese as well.

Do not try this at home! (well...if you're less than 2 weeks post op)

I got brave today, and I regretted it.

I took a bite of chicken, chewed up really good, and a bite of soft broccoli. Wow! I will not be doing that again soon. It felt like a brick in my throat/stomach and I threw up a little.

It was only liquid that I threw up, not what I had just eaten. I think it was the brocolli that did it because I had a bite of chicken last night when I cooked it for my family and it was perfectly fine. No more broccoli for a bit. I think I didn't chew it well enough.

In other news, I am in the 260's! My weight this morning was 267lbs! I've lost 25 pounds total! 10 since surgery (today is day 11, so that's about a pound a day!!) I have a feeling I'm going to stall for a few days...I know it's coming.

I walked for 20 minutes yesterday, .75mile. Today I took a break, but I did more cleaning around the house to kind of make up for it :)

I've been eating around 600 calories a day, and I've been managing about 60-65g of protein!

After I drop 5 more pounds I'm going to take some new body shots to compare to my pre-surgery weight. I doubt there we be a difference that is noticeable in the photos though.

9 days post surgery, additions to my diet.

Today is my 9th day post op. I finally added two new things to my diet. Scrambled eggs and pork rinds....no not together!

Since the doc is allowing me instant mashed potatoes, I figured scrambled eggs cannot hurt. Let me tell you, this egg tasted like steak!!! It seriously was that good. I added a small sprinkle of cheese, salt and pepper. I almost made two eggs, but I am so glad I didn't. I was STUFFED after eating one egg.

I was reading about types of snacks that others have been eating post surgery, and one of them that's recommended to get something "crunchy" are pork rinds. I hadn't eaten these since I was little and I love them! I am able to eat them right now because they do melt away in your mouth. Guess what? One serving has only 80 calories, 5g fat, 0 carbs, and 8g protein! Some have 7g protein and some have 9g protein, it all depends on the brand you get.

I see the doctor in 4 days for a checkup, that's right before my pureed stage starts. I'm excited to get to that stage! There is a really good recipe from "The World according to Egg Face" that sounds really good. It's a baked ricotta recipe! I could probably eat that now, but I do not want to push it. I can wait 4 more days...I hope!

I've been able to do light exercise. I usually hop on the treadmill for about 15 mins/.5 mile and do light weights with my arms. I really want to get my energy/stamina back like before surgery. Pre-surgery I was walking for 50 mins, and jogging for 10 (every few mins I would do a sprint, totally up to 10 mins with in the hr of exercise).

I'm down 22lbs! 15 pre surgery, 7 post surgery.

Air Bubbles! Protein! Weight.

Today is day 6 after surgery. Still trying the best way to eat and drink without getting air bubbles. Most of them don't hurt, they are just annoying, but once in a while I will get some that HURT!

I'm not using a straw, but I am using spoons for most things. When I swallow my food/drink, It doesn't feel like any air goes down with it....but then about 30 seconds later, I feel that air bubble!! Usually just a small burp, but still quite annoying. I know this is very common and it really cannot be avoided.

My scale is still sitting at 273lbs. I was expecting it to be at least down to 270 by now, but I from what I've read, this is pretty standard. My body is still adjusting and you don't have a huge weight loss. As long as that scale has not moved up, and continues to go down, that is perfectly fine with me! I guess now that I think about it, I've lost 19lbs in the last month (15 pre op, 4 post surgery), that's pretty damn good. I think I need to stop getting on the scale every day. That's so much easier said than done though! I'm really looking forward to seeing 269 lbs on the scale because I have not seen that number in AT LEAST 6 or 7 years! One step at a time! Gotta keep telling myself this.

My diet is going pretty well. My meals for the day usually include liquid phase):

1 serving of Cream of Wheat (this makes 2 meals)
1 protein shake (usually half in the morn and the other half later in the day)
1 4oz yogurt (sometimes 1 meal, other times 2)
1 can of chicken broth or 1/2 can of strained cream of ____ soup.
1/2c instant mashed potatoes (usually this is 2 meals as well)

The mashed potatoes I just started yesterday, I tried to have them on day 4 but my body was not ready, either I made them too thick or my tummy just didn't want to take them--they hurt going down.

I have to remind myself to eat, which is weird. I've never had to do that before. I am going to hop on my treadmill. I'm going to try for half a mile and go from there. I get exhausted really quickly still. I feel like there are bricks on my shoulders sometimes and this is very exhausting!

My doctor didn't give me an exact number to aim for for protein in my liquid phase. I'm aiming for 50. My protein drinks alone are 30, so I make that my priority! I cannot wait to have chicken or fish again....it's only been a week, but I really want some :)

4 Days after surgery

I'm still feeling tired, or "winded," from the surgery. I just want to have my energy back! I want to hop on my treadmill, walk a mile or two, instead of sitting on my behind all day, or laying in bed staring at the ceiling because I'm waiting for a gas bubble to go away!

Yesterday I got in probably around 36g of protein. Not too bad for my first attempt.

Today I'm sitting at around 20g, (It's early afternoon) but I need to get in more water. I've had really bad diarrhea today (yes...TMI! But I'm assuming you're reading about my journey because you want to be prepared lol) I read some online forums and found that immodium is okay to take, so I took one chewable, and hopefully that will help, so far it has.

Today I cooked a pancake for my daughter...and it looked so good! One day I'll be able to eat a small one again...for now, I'll just keep cooking them!

One product that is really good that I found is Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla yogurt that is "diabetic friendly." It's real yummy!

The only other complaint I have at this point is the weird dreams I've been having...don't know if it's a coincidence or if it's a side effect from the anesthesia still!

Want to see my scars? Well...technically they aren't scars yet! (the orange part of the shirt is just under my breasts, the picture isn't rotated, sorry!)

Post Op

I had my surgery on July 18, 2012...3 days ago. I came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon.

This blog is from a personal perspective with my weight loss journey.

Here are a few stats:

Highest weight 293lbs
Weight Post op 277 lbs
Weight when I got home from surgery 274lbs.

I'm 29 years old, 5'6".

The day of surgery and the day after surgery I had really bad nausea and was vomiting. They finally gave me meds that helped with it. If I weren't vomiting, they were going to let me go home the day after surgery.

This is the first surgery I've had where I was put to sleep. (I've only had a c-section and was awake for that) I had no idea what to expect. I remember going into the surgery room, only a few minutes after meeting with my doctor again and his nurse, them having me move onto the surgical table, lay my arms out, and hearing rock & roll playing in the background, and the next thing I know the anesthesiologist is placing a mask on me telling me to take in 3 deep breaths of oxygen...and then BAM next thing I know I'm in recovery.

The first thing out of my mouth to the nurse was that the "anesthesiologist lied to me. It was not oxygen he was giving me!" haha I thought that was pretty funny. I think I caught the nurse off guard.

My stomach pain isn't too bad. It does get uncomfortable when trying to rest. I do find myself waking up every 2-3 hours overnight, and needing to get up and walk around for a minute.

As for food...it's really weird not eating! I finally drank an entire protein shake (over a 24hr period), a yogurt, and chicken broth. I'm very gassy but nothing really comes out...you just feel bubbles.

The only thing I'd really complain about is being so tired!! I joined a forum (verticalsleevetalk.com) and asked if anyone else felt like this, and the best way it was put is that it's like "jet lag" from the anesthesia. I should feel better about 7 days out post-op. I just want to start exercising again and getting this weight off!

Wish me luck!
Here is my "before" picture.