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.

Turkey Meatball Squares

 

Skip the pasta and just eat the meat! Instead of making meatballs, I made them into squares (well, I guess they are actually rectangles...). 

What you need:

1 package of lean ground turkey (I believe it's 1.25lbs)

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg

Garlic Salt

Italian Seasoning

Parmesan Cheese

1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese

1 Cup Spaghetti Sauce

Beat the egg in a large mixing bowl with a fork. Add the turkey, bread crumbs, garlic salt, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning (to your taste preference), combine with your hands.

Using either a pan like the one pictured below, or a muffin pan, spray it with non stick cooking spray. Put your meat in each hole, but do not overfill.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Once the time is up, put a spoonful sauce and sprinkle of mozzarella cheese on each "meatball." Cook for an additional 15 minutes or until turkey is fully cooked.

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.

Cheesy Asparagus

My friend, who also had the sleeve a few weeks after me, told me about this recipe she came up with, and it's so good!

This is great for use in the toaster oven!

I always boil my asparagus, because I'm afraid of under cooking them and them not tasting so great....but this works great in the toaster oven!

What you need:

Asparagus (whatever serving size you can eat. I do between 5-8 spears), snapped
String cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat your toaster oven to 425. Spray your pan with non stick spray. Lay down the asparagus, pull apart your string cheese and lay across and all over your asparagus, and then sprinkle with a small amount of fresh grated Parmesan cheese! Cook for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

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!

Wednesday Weigh in 9/19/12

Today was my weigh in day (my bi-weekly weigh in). I lost .6lbs. I'm down to 249.4. I was hoping for at least a whole pound, but I'll take it. I have to admit I'm still not exercising daily. I feel so incredibly lazy :(

Tomorrow I'm cutting my hair. Right now it's getting pretty long and it's annoying me! I think I'm going to go semi-short...and then touch up my blonde after I cut it.

I've become very addicted to Pinterest....I've finally started using some of the things I've been pinning, including recipes, a magnetic food calendar to help plan for meals, and a face scrub that is suppose to give you "glowing skin." Well, I did it yesterday. It made my skin really smooth. I guess you should only do it once or twice a week though, because it can be a little harsh.

Take 3 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 tablespoon water, mix. Apply to face in circular motion. Let it sit for 5 minutes, wash off with warm water.

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.

2 Month Check up!

Saw the Doctor today for my 8 week post op visit! He's happy with my weight loss! His words were, "You're making my job too easy!" haha. I'm down 42 lbs, weighed in at 250lbs today!

I don't have to see him again until the end of November.

One bad thing that happened today...I was so hungry after my appointment, and I was in a hurry to get home and eat something--well, my husband forgot to bring his lunch to work so he asked if I would grab him a salad from Carl's Jr. I ordered his salad as well as two "street tacos" in chicken. I've had chicken tacos since surgery, figured it wouldn't do any harm. Man, I was wrong!! I must have eaten them way too fast because they came right back up...while I was driving!!!! I made most if it into the empty bag...but the rest went straight down my shirt! Ugh. Yuck :(

Now it's dinner time... going to eat some sun dried tomato Tilapia that I bought pre seasoned from Costco. It's really good but I wish I knew the nutrition facts!

The Cycle.

Yes, the cycle. That's what this blog is about. So if this is going to be TMI, please go to another entry :)

My period has always been irregular. By irregular, I mean I could go any where from a period every 2 weeks, once every 3 months, or once every six months (I actually went 7 months without my period before I got pregnant with my daughter). The doctor's never wanted to find out why or give me any kind of a reason or show concern, so I never perused trying to "fix" it. Heck--I was fine with a period only once every few months!

Actually, I take that back in regards to the doctor never did anything. One of my doctor's when I was about 19 or 20 put me on the pill to regulate it....but once I stopped the pill, the issue existed again.

 A few days before surgery I started my period, and it was just spotting the day of surgery. Well, the following week, it came back in full force! 30 days later BAM back in full force....and now it's back again and it won't go away. It's been 9 days! GO AWAY! I do not miss cramps! This bites.

 I know my body is still adjusting to this whole loosing weight thing, and I understand that will cause this. I just hope that if I'm going to continue to get my monthly visitor that it makes some kind of routine schedule and sticks to it! I don't like surprise visitors!

40lbs!

I look terrible in these pics! lol but here are some photos from 0lbs to 40lbs down.Still have a long ways to go....

I'm really getting tired of eating leftovers! I think I need to just stop making so much food. It's hard trying to plan meals for my family of 3 when it comes to potion sizes, and I get stuck eating leftovers for DAYS. I think I'm going to make some zucchini pizza later for lunch. I'll be sure to post it if I do!  

I must stop the obession.

I have to check my weight every day...I've done so since surgery every day once I got out of the hospital, except one day during my short stall.

I'm getting mad at myself when I don't see the scale moving, so I have decided that once I hit 250lbs, I am going to weigh myself twice a week. Saturday and Wednesday, and only track Wednesday's weight.

I've got 5lbs to go to get to 250lbs....

148 Calorie Lasagna Cupcakes

These lasagna cupcakes were such success, not only with how good they were, but how little calories and carbs there were!

Lasagna Cupcakes Recipe:

What you need:

-Cupcake pan (mine makes 12)
-24 won ton wrappers (basically two for each cupcake)
-1 block frozen spinach, cooked and drained
-3/4c ricotta cheese, reduced fat
-1 zucchini sauteed in olive oil (bite size pieces)
-1/2lb cooked ground turkey
-1 1/2c shredded mozzarella cheese
-1/2c shredded Parmesan cheese
 -1 jar of your favorite spagetti sauce
-dried basil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and spinach.

In another bowl, mix the turkey, zucchini, and spaghetti sauce. Save about a cup to a cup and a half of sauce for later. 

Spray the cupcake pan with non stick cooking spray. Place a won ton wrapper in each cupcake hole, as if it were a cupcake liner. (It will not cover all of the sides yet). Using a spoon, put the ricotta spinach mixture as the bottom layer, just enough to cover the bottom. Then top with another won ton wrapper.

Place a scoop of the turkey mixture next. Then cover with the reserved sauce.

Top each cupcake with the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, and sprinkle of basil!

Cook for about 20minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

Use a spoon to take out of the pan, let it cool for 5-7 minutes.

Urgent Care :(

My left ankle has been bugging me for about two weeks now. Yesterday we went to the fair, and we walked for at least 3 hours (if not more!) and it was throbbing when I got home :( This morning I woke up super early to it being just as painful, so I decided I better go to urgent care.

Turns out I have an inflamed Achilles tendon. Dr. says it was probably from when I was exercising. I have to take it easy for the next week and if it doesn't get better, I have to see the podiatrist. All I can do is take ibuprofen for it...glad I can still take that.

I'm down another pound. I'm now at 256lbs. My rings are slipping off of my fingers and it's quite annoying, and I don't want to have them resized right now because I'll more than likely have to resize them again later down the road.

I did give in and buy two new pairs of pants and two tank tops from Lane Bryant today. I got them a size smaller than I am now, so hopefully I'll be able to wear them. They had a really good sale today and I couldn't pass them up.

35lbs!

I don't think I'll be making my goal to weigh 250 by Sept 1...that's just a few days away, but I am down to 257lbs! That's 35lbs gone forever!

My scaled moved two days in a row, woohoo! I do have to admit I have not exercised since I went back to work, with the exception of yesterday. I'm so exhausted when I get home, I need to turn this around.

My clothes are feeling loose! I am able to fit into smaller pants that I previously "grew out of." I see so many cute clothes that are currently too small for me that I want to buy, but I just cannot imagine fitting into them, so I'm scared :(

Carbless Crepes with Cream of mushroom & Chicken!

I came across this recipe on the forum on verticalsleevetalk.com, that redirected me to this site for the crepe recipe.

This is the first time I was able to make a successful crepe! I filled mine with bite size pieces of already cooked chicken thighs, mixed with cream of mushroom soup, and topped with reduced fat shredded cheese (fiesta blend).

I was thinking the cinamon and sugar used in the recipe would make it taste to sweet with the chicken but it was a nice combo.

I even had a small crepe left over that I filled with Ricotta cheese mixed with a splash of Almond Roca Torani sugar free syrup! Ahhhh heaven!!

I also served with a small side of brussel sprouts. I was only able to eat half of my crepe :( Guess I know what I'm brining to work tomorrow for lunch!

Tuna melt without bread!

I really wanted a tuna melt tonight, but of course I cannot have bread or all those carbs--and I didn't want my oven to heat up my entire house in this super hot 110 degree weather...

So I turned on my toaster oven instead and placed some foil on the cookie sheet, and sprayed it really good with olive oil flavored pam, placed down won ton wrappers, sprayed them with pam, and let them get crispy (about 5 minutes), turned them over, put my tuna fish on top (I made it earlier, just normal tuna in water, some light mayo and mustard and diced pickles) and topped with reduced fat cheese, cooked until the cheese was melted!

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.