Cardio Kickboxing is a thing!

So, last night, I went to my first class at iLoveKickboxing. I got my ass kicked by the first 15 minutes, but I honestly really tried to do every move that they showed us... mountain climbers... omg. I can't quite do those yet... or a lot of the other moves. But I tried. I really tried. So, yeah, I can't do them yet, not like I should be able to... but the more I do them, the more I'll be able to. I'm totally in much better cardio shape than I thought... while the muscles were screaming after the jogging, and the fast moves and stuff, I wasn't breathing hard. In fact, I wasn't breathing super hard the whole class. It was eye opening.

Today, my knuckles are barking a bit. I have gloves, awesome, pink gloves, but when I asked about handwraps, it was a "some people like them, some people don't." type thing. I decided to hold off on buying them, since I didn't know if I was going to need them... Oh, I totally need them. The knuckles on my right hand... right where my fingers meet my hand? They're sore today. So, I ordered THESE online. :) So, this was me before class last night, ready to go in and kick butt!

I have my boxing gloves too. They're made by Century boxing, and they seem decent. :) They're pink. Yes, I said pink. I'm a girl. Get over it. ;)

Unfortunately, iLoveKickboxing is a little out of league for me financially right now... they're basically $100/mo for 65 classes. It's a total shame too, because the girls there are amazing. The atmosphere is also amazing. Super supportive and uplifting. The workout is Hard. I'm not going to lie. And my muscles are feeling it today. My inner thighs are screaming at me. But it's totally worth. TOTALLY. WORTH.

I am going to check out two other gyms next week. One is $48/mo for unlimited classes, or $10/class. The other gym I don't know how much it costs, but, right now they're running a deal $49/mo for unlimited classes. I'm checking out one on Thursday, and one on Saturday. We'll see what I think of the gyms, and if they'll be ok for the price. I know I have a few local people that read this blog... anyone interested in doing some kickboxing with me? :)

~♥~
Lady D

Post-op and hi there

Hey guys!

It was brought to my attention this morning that I haven't posted in a while... oops. Sorry. As I've said before, give me a follow over on Instagram... I definitely update there a lot more than my blog these days. :(

Work is crazy, and when I get home, I have an even crazier 2.5 year old to chase around. It makes life interesting.

So, my surgery went well. I had it Wednesday Morning June 6, and then was back to work the following Monday. The only disconcerting thing about the surgery is that I had A LOT of fluid in my breast. It made it sloshy. Like, I could HEAR it sloshing in there. Totally disconcerting. But the fluid has started reabsorbing into my body, at least to the point that I don't hear it anymore. :)

I'm really excited for this week! On Thursday, I take the next step in my exercise goals in that I'm going to a class at our local ILoveKickboxing.com studio. I don't think I'll end up going there long-term if what I've read about their monthly pricing is right... $150/mo! But, for $10, I get three classes plus my kickboxing gloves. Kickboxing gloves on Amazon START at $30, so, $10?! No brainer. I'm excited to try it. The idea has been floating around in my head for a while, and since I've lost the weight, I realized something like kickboxing or martial arts actually is possible now. :)

Next Saturday, I have a different kickboxing class at a different gym. It's a much better price, $48/mo, or 5 classes for $50 (if you're going to go for less than 5x/mo). I definitely need to do something more intense. Walking is just getting old for me. It's not challenging enough, and I have bad knees, so, running? Not so much. :( I'll let you all know how it goes. My pretty silver Victoria's Secret tote I got from one of their sales is all packed and ready to go with the new exercise clothes I bought at Plato's Closet (Total NSV for me... being able to shop at Plato's!). I need new athletic shoes, but for now the ones I have will work. I'll have to go shopping, and see if I can find something fun. :)

Well, not much else going on right now... here's a transformation Tuesday pic from a week or so ago for you. :)

Let's see your Transformation Tuesday pics, all! :)

~♥~
Lady D

Body Image Issues and Surgery (Ladies especially please read this!!!)

***WARNING: THERE IS A PICTURE OF MY SAGGY BELLY SKIN IN THIS POST...***

So, I've been having some body image issues for several days in a row now. I have a LOT of excess skin in my belly, arm, and thighs. My breasts are also saggy now. But surgery, without insurance help is going to be around $20,000... which I can't afford. But, my husband and I have started talking about it, and we're going to slowly start saving up our $2,000/year Health Reimbursement Account to help pay for some of the surgeries. I'll just have to deal with my dysmorphia until then. And I honestly know that that's what a lot of this is... body dysmorphia. But there's not a whole lot I can do about it.

I posted this picture in my surgery group's facebook page since we were talking about skin. I am bending over in this pic, but this is what made me realize that my belly area is NOT fat! It's SKIN. If you're grossed out by this, a- you're on the WAY wrong page, and b- I DID warn you at the beginning of the post.

Cool thing about that pic? That's a real thigh gap. I was not standing with my legs spread farther apart than normal. Cool, eh?

So, I haven't really talked super openly about this next part, but I guess it's something that needs to be said as well. So, as I mentioned above, I have saggy boobs now. At my annual OB/GYN Appointment, my OB noticed that I have fibrocystic breast tissue... aka, I have lumpy breasts. This is a very common thing post weight-loss surgery, or major weight loss. Also, I have dense breast tissue, which can hide tumors. So, she wanted to send me for a "baseline mammogram." Something that she was sure would come out normal, but something that we could look at in the future and gauge my breasts. So, I went for the mammo. I could tell something came back funny, because when the tech did my left breast (the same breast my OB paused on), she started talking about me most likely getting called back for a second mammo, and not to worry, it's just that they don't have anything to compare it to, ect.

Well, sure enough, I get called back for a second mammogram. And they tell me how that process is going to go. They're going to take some pictures of my left breast because I have "asymmetrical breast tissue," and then show it to the radiologist. And if he decides he wants to see more, he'll send me for an ultrasound, and if they wanted more from that, or if they found something, they would do a biopsy. The tech was playing this off, because she thought it was going to be nothing. She even asked me: "You're 31, you have no family history of breast cancer, why did you even get the first mammo?" To which I explained. So, she took me in, did my couple of pictures, and then had me sit and wait in the dressing room while she showed the radiologist the pictures. It was a few minutes, and she came back saying he wanted me to have an ultrasound.

On to the ultrasound room we went. Well, again, she was saying she was going to look at the area, probably wouldn't even need to take some pictures, but if she did, she'd show them to the radiologist, and see what he said. Sure enough, a few moments of her looking, and she's taking pictures. She takes the pictures into the radiologist, and literally less than a minute later, he's in the room because he wants to look himself. And then they said what I DID NOT want to hear. They found an abnormal tumor that they are EXTREMELY concerned about, and they want to do a biopsy to make sure it's not cancer.

They did the biopsy about 10 minutes later, and a little less than a week later, I had the results. The way they were all acting, I really thought I had cancer. Well, I don't... maybe. I have what's called a "Granular Cell Tumor," which is a very rare (1 in 1000 tumors found are GCT's) type of usually benign tumor (only 1-2% of GCT's are cancerous). They recommended I go see a surgical breast oncologist to have it removed.

Fast forward two weeks. I'm meeting with one of the breast surgeons. To explain my tumor as he did: Since he's been practicing he's only seen 2-3 of these. When tumors are found, they're on a scale like this... cancer-somewhere in between-not cancer. Guess where I fall? Somewhere in between. He said he's not super concerned, since my biopsy results came back benign, but it's a 1cm tumor, and the biopsy only takes such a small area that it's just best to remove it.

So, next Wednesday, I'm undergoing out patient surgery to have the tumor removed. It's a two-part procedure, the first part, where they place the guide wire, I'll be awake for. The second part, where they actually remove the tumor, I'll be asleep for. I'm a little nervous about the first part, mainly because the biopsy hurt like a bitch... I didn't tell the doc to give me more lidocaine because I just thought it was supposed to hurt. After she took 5 samples, she figured it out though, and dosed me again. Smart lady. I didn't feel it the second time she was in there. My friend is driving me to the surgery center since my husband has to drop the midget off at daycare, but then he's hoping to be at the surgery center before I go back for the guide wire placement at 8am. Oh... best part? My sister's wedding is the day before, and I'm not planning on being home from that until around 1am. :D I figure I'm going to be sleeping all day anyways, so, who needs sleep the night before? LOL. The actual surgery is scheduled for 10am.

Doc said we'll know fore sure the results about a week after removal, but, again, none of us are really concerned at this point, which is why I'm talking about it. The whole point is that ladies, PLEASE do your self-breast exams. I know your breasts are changing, but, obviously, I, who was not paying attention to my breasts, could've had a much bigger issue on my hands. This journey allowed us to find this tumor, and hells yes, I'm going to be doing my monthly exams. Pick a day of the month (the TV station in Toledo, OH, where I'm originally from is channel 11. One of their anchors had breast cancer, and they always played a little piece by her on the 11th of the month to remind you to do a self breast exam) and do your exam every month. Guys, don't think you're exempt from this! While more rare for men, breast cancer CAN happen. Do it too! Ok, PSA over. I hope you all are having a wonderful week after our holiday weekend!! :)

~♥~
Lady D

More "Pizza" and a new Drink Stick...

Well, new to me. So, I was at Walmart yesterday, which is where I do my drink sticks from (think Crystal-Light on the go). I usually get the Great Value Blackberry lemonade, or, when they still had it (If you're a higher up at Walmart, PLEASE bring this back!!!) the Tangerine Grapefruit, but they didn't have my Blackberry Lemonade yesterday. So, I saw that Hawaiian Punch had drink sticks that were Sugar Free. Can I just say NOM?!?!?!? It literally tastes like drinking Hawaiian Punch. After my first sip, I had to go back and look again to make sure they WERE sugar free, because they sure as heck don't taste sugar free. But yes, they indeed are! I can't find any links for the original Fruit Punch flavor Sugar Free, but here's a link for the Orange Sugar free ones. My local Walmart had a pack of 8 for $1. And I WILL be buying them again.

So, I promised a picture of my Chicken Sausage pizza, and here's the one I made last night. It's Sharp Cheddar and Pepperjack cheeses mixed for the base/top, and Meijer Cheddar Jalapeno Chicken Sausages. Then I served with some Great Value Cantina Salsa.

And yes, it DID taste as good as it looks. :D

So, over the weekend I threw my back out of whack, and yesterday I went to the chiropractor. I had multiple vertebra wonky which he got, and I thought I had a rib out... which the alignment SHOULD HAVE fixed. BUT, apparently not. I woke up in tears this morning, and if I move wrong, I see stars. I'm wondering if I didn't seriously pull/tear a muscle (the pain is right between the lower right part of my right breast and my underarm), or crack a rib. It's painful as hell, and hey, since I had bypass, I can only do extra strength Tylenol, which doesn't come close to touching this pain. *sigh* Since I work for thoracic surgeons, I asked one of them to look at it for me, since, you know, they work with ribs on the daily, to see if he thought it was muscular or if I needed to get an x-ray. He said that he didn't feel any "crunch" or anything when I breathed in, so, if it is fractured, it's a small one. No need to get an x-ray- they wouldn't be able to do anything for it anyways. Most likely sprained or pulled a muscle. He said it will probably take two months to heal, and to check with my bariatric surgeon about getting some NSAIDs or other anti-inflammatories... which I already have a call in to them to check. So yeah. Guess I'm going to take it easy for now, and buy a heating pad.

How's your week shaping up so far? :)

~♥~
Lady D

Meatball "Pizza"

So, I don't know if you remember my "Crust-less Pizza" I made when I was really pre-op, but I've made a few moderations to it since I've been post op, and... OMG, this is AWESOME. The one I'm showing today is just one that I've made... it's a "Meatball Pizza." You take 3 Cooked Perfect Frozen turkey or chicken meatballs and microwave them for 45 seconds. Cut them into quarters. Take a small (6-8") skillet, and put barely a layer of low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese in the bottom (just enough to hold the meatballs together). Layer the meatballs in the pan, and sprinkle parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and any Italian spices that you want on there. Finally, top with just enough cheese to cover things. Turn the heat on medium-low, and put a lid on the pan to melt the top of the cheese. Let it cook until the bottom gets brown and crusty. Dip in some marinara or low-sugar pizza sauce.

It's fabulous. I have to share with my kiddo, because a- she loves it, and b- I can almost never finish the full thing by myself. I've also made it with a combination of fiesta blend and pepperjack shredded cheeses, with Cheddar Jalapeno chicken sausages from Meijer. Instead of using Italian spices, I used a little bit of cumin, and I topped with salsa instead of marinara. As I said, FANTASTIC. There are ways to make food awesome.

I also came to realize just the other day that I've never put my updated cauliflower casserole recipe on here... hm... I'll have to get some cheddar cheese and riced cauliflower, and make it to show you. :) Well, that's it for now I think. I hope you are all having a WONDERFUL week! :)

~♥~
Lady D

PSA Post: READ READ READ your Labels!!!!

*sigh* This post for me is a sad one right now, because I'm suffering the consequences. So, I had purchased some super YUMMY turkey hotdogs from... somewhere... Meijer? Walmart? They were Bar S brand. And believe it or not, two of them completely kept me satiated until my next meal. Well, when I was at Walmart the other day, I couldn't find these. So, I bought the Jennie-O brand. Well, I was getting hungry, A LOT after I had two of them this morning. And now I see why. Holy cow! Only 4g protein per. The Bar S brand only has 6g protein per, but for some reason, that keeps me fuller longer. Neither of these are a very good option for a meal, honestly. This is why I need to READ READ READ my labels before I buy things. Plus, the Jennie-O hotdogs didn't cook up like normal hotdogs, and they just don't taste the same. :( Oh well.

I did a much better job over the weekend prepping for my sister's bridal shower luncheon... kind of. So, knowing that she picked Olive Garden, I went and studied their menu and nutritional content, and saw that some of their "healthier" dishes still had 30+g fat in them! Oh no, that just wouldn't do. So, my original plan was to have some salad with a grilled chicken breast. But! I saw that the Pasta Fagioli had only 2g fat in it... and less than 2g sugar. For those of you that haven't been to Olive Garden, the pasta fagioli is basically chili, with some small pasta in it. So, I ordered that. And I picked out the pasta. Well, I did my normal protein bar at 130 after lunch, and then I forgot all about it. As I was driving home, I was getting REALLY hungry. Well, after looking it up, the entire bowl of pasta fagioli only has 8g protein in it. :( So, I popped another protein bar. I ended up with more calories than I probably should have that day: Protein Shake, Protein Bar for breakfast, Pasta Fagioli for lunch, Protein Bar Snack, Protein Bar Snack again, Protein Bar dinner, and then when I got home I had a few fresh strawberries and an apple. So, I guess I could have done much, much worse, but still.

Speaking of Protein Bars, I DID get to try the Wild Berry Creme flavor of PowerCrunch over the weekend. I'm not a fan, honestly. It's got a tang to it at first, which is ok... and it's definitely got a lot of berry flavor, but it's got that whey aftertaste that most bars have that turn me off that no other flavor of PowerCrunch have had to date. I just don't get it. Oh well. Give them a try, let me know what you think. Maybe I'm just crazy. :)

So, since it's Tuesday, I've been trying to keep up with "Transformation Tuesday" on Instagram. I don't do it all the time... mainly if I have a cute outfit on, or I'm having a good body image day (these do not come along super often). Today was one of the days I was indeed having a good body image day, so, here's my latest "Transformation Tuesday" shot...

Yeah... that's what a 181# difference looks like. :)

Btw, guys, (you can't see it in that picture, but...) I know my belly looks kind of funny right now, and I kind of look like I'm pregnant, BUT I'M NOT. So, please. Stop blatantly looking at my belly like you're expecting me to say I'm pregnant. I'm not! It's loose skin, and my remaining fat. Ain't no baby up in there. LOL

~♥~
Lady D

Woohoo!!! And... Cookies?!

So, someone from my Bariatric Surgery group posted a video the other day with "Old Fashioned" Peanut Butter Cookies. Now, I know per MY plan I can't have PB, but, I know that some surgeons don't frown upon it. So, if you're allowed to have PB, this would be a super yummy thing to make. Heck, I'm planning on making these "bari-friendly" for my kid. Who needs all that sugar in regular cookies anyways?

3 Ingredient Old Fashioned PB Cookies

-1 c. All Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
-1 c. Splenda
-1 Egg

-Preheat oven to 350*F
-Mix ingredients together.
-Scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
-Bake for 6-8 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE!

Yup. That's it. How have I never learned this recipe before?! Heck, even if I decided to "Cheat" and have a bite of one, it wouldn't be a HUGE cheat. Chances of me slipping like that after my earlier PB fiasco are slim to none, but, ya know, it's good to have options. :)

So, as for the woohoo? All the weight that I had gained back? Gone. I weighed in yesterday morning at 212 again. This morning I was 213, but, I didn't drink a whole lot of water yesterday, so, that's what I'm blaming that on. So those 8#... yeah... they're gone again. And that's why I've decided to not say "Gone Forever" when talking about the weight I've lost. We all make bad choices. We all slip up. I know several people who've had the surgery, and lost all kinds of weight. And then something happens. Either something in their life, or they let their guard down, or just feel like being "normal" again, and they gain weight back. It can happen. I don't want it to happen, so, I'm going to try to be as good as I can. :)

~♥~
Lady D

Well... it's been a while

Hi guys!!! :)

Sorry that I've been a bit absent lately... My counterpart at work left, and I've taken on her role as well as my own, and with a now super-active two year old at home in the evening, I've not had a whole lot of time to blog. I am still on IG a fair amount, so, for pictures and such, feel free to give me a follow over there (@ladydobz). If you're not into IG, I'll try to do a little better of posting on here. :)

Um, let's see. I guess I'll make this a full disclosure post, and talk about gains. So, I hit my 150# down mark on April 16. My weight loss has slowed WAY the heck down. April 22, I lost another pound. And then? I gained. I gained 8#, and all of a sudden found myself back up to 220#, from 212#. This morning, I weighed myself at 216#, so, it's coming off again, thankfully, but yeah. Scary. So, what made me gain? I think a few things need to be taken into consideration. 1- It's summer. It's hot. I'm eating more pickles, because I'm craving salt. I'm eating a decent amount of pickles. I'm retaining water. 2- It's that time of the month. I always gain 3-5 pounds this time of the month, and then suddenly, they all go away when it's over. Again, water retention/bloating. 3- Things are a bit slow moving in the GI department, if you know what I mean. They're moving, but slowly. 4- I started eating Peanut Butter. This I believe is the biggest factor to the gain. I wasn't sticking to my 1 cooking tsp. of peanut butter. I was up to 2-3 tsps. or sometimes 2 tbsps. of peanut butter a day. And that wasn't good. So, I tossed the rest of my peanut butter in the trash, and I'm getting back on plan. :)

To help combat my sweet cravings, I had my husband buy me some SF Jell-O pudding cups. They're cold, refreshing, and hey, totally in my plan! :D In addition to that, I do occasionally do a super small amount of Halo Top (like a cooking tbsp.). Right now I've got S'Mores, because, you know... summer. :D

This weekend is my sister's bridal shower luncheon. She picked Olive Garden to have it at. I found out that I AM able to eat their salad, nutrition-wise, as long as I only have a small amount, and since they have an option to add grilled chicken to entrees, I bet I can convince them to just charge me for a grilled chicken breast to have with my salad. If not, oh well. I'll have protein bars with me, and I just won't eat their food. :) No biggie.

I'm actually planning on taking 5 protein bars with me tomorrow. I'll have my normal early-morning protein shake, and then start pounding the water after that. I'll have a protein bar around 9am for breakfast, I'll have one in case I need one for lunch, my normal 1:30pm Protein Bar to help get me through the day, and then on the way home, I'll have one for dinner. Yup. Protein bars all day long. Oh well. At least they taste good. :D

Speaking of protein bars, I've tried all available flavors of PowerCrunch bars now with the exception of the Mocha, and the Berry, and that's because I don't like coffee (mocha), and none of my local stores carry the Berry. But, my sister said that her Walmart has them, so, I'm going to get a box this weekend. So far, Salted Caramel is literally my favorite. Chocolate Mint is a close second... probably because it tastes like a freaking Thin Mint. PB Fudge is awesome, plus helps me get my PB fix. PB Creme is meh. Vanilla Creme is good. Cookies and Cream are Ok. Red Velvet is amazing, but it's a little high in sugar (7g/bar), so, I won't do that one super often. Triple Fudge is decadent. In other words, you really can't go wrong. :D

Another post about something I tried recently and didn't really follow-up on? Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Powder. I've tried several flavors now, and totally am going to give my opinion on them. :D So, Double Rich Chocolate is still my favorite. I even boost it most mornings with a squirt of SF Chocolate Syrup (I prefer the taste of the Great Value brand to Hershey's, but whatever floats your boat), or some Torani, or both. But honestly, you could totally do without either of those if you're watching your money. I mix my shake with 12 oz. Skim milk, which ends up being like 36g protein. Not bad at all. The other flavors I've tried? Extreme Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Dipped Banana, and Birthday Cake. Ok, so, the Extreme Milk Chocolate is not my cup of tea. I had to extremely flavor it every time I did it. It almost has a cinnamon taste to it, which is just weird. So, I won't be doing that one again. The Chocolate Dipped Banana isn't bad, but it's definitely banana flavored... not like natural banana flavor, more like Banana Laffy Taffy. Again, not really my cup of tea, but this one is doable with a squirt of SF Chocolate Syrup. Birthday Cake is awesome, but a little light on flavor. I'm going to get some SF French Vanilla Torani, or even just some vanilla extract, and see if that helps. It tastes good though, and even has little "sprinkles" in it, so, you feel like you're having a treat. My friend SWEARS by the Rocky Road flavor. I haven't seen that one in my local GNC, so, I'm going to have to order it online. They have a TON of flavors, and I've barely even scratched the surface. :D

I went and got my bloodwork done for my six-month surgery follow-up appointment last Saturday. They took SIX vials. Holy hell. But when they're running literally five pages of tests, you can't expect much less. :D

People keep asking me if I have plans for Mother's Day. Yup. Big plans. Lots and lots of Laundry. Since I'll be out of town (my sister lives in NW Ohio) tomorrow, I have to play catch-up on the laundry on Sunday. I'll at least work on some of it tonight in addition to packing the car so that I'm not so overwhelmed on Sunday. Since my daughter is a whopping two year's old, Mother's Day isn't a super big thing yet. My husband did get me two super awesome practical Mother's Day gifts though... we redid all our beds this year... new mulch, buried our downspout, tore out crappy bushes, put in boxwoods, added some lilies, transplanted my mums, double-layered our stone border... a LOT of work. All in one afternoon. And yeah, we didn't really have to take breaks... just once to eat lunch, and then I had to run out to Lowe's a second time to get a few extra things. Thank you gastric bypass. Last year when we were doing yard work? I was taking breaks like every 15 minutes. It was horrible. But, I digress. He bought me a hose reel, and a telescoping hose attachment for Mother's Day. I'm so proud of my beds that I want to take care of them, and this is the perfect way to do it. I have some pictures up on Instagram of our work. Go check it out! :)

I think that's all that I really have for now! You all have a wonderful weekend! :)

~♥~
Lady D

3 Month Follow-up, and more PowerCrunch Love

**Wrote yesterday**

Hello wonderful readers! :)

So, I had my three-month follow-up appointment last Thursday. I totally spaced posting about it that night, and over the weekend. *sigh* But that's ok, since it was all good news, and will kind of be boring.

I met with the dietitian first, and we talked about my biggest issue right now, which has been snacking... I've started snacking a bit... and it's not like I'm going all out, and eating things I'm not supposed to... with one exception, but she didn't correct me on the one exception, so... maybe? *shrugs* I've been doing 10 yes... 10... SF Hershey's chocolate chips. I counted out how many would fit into a teaspoon, and 10 is my magic number. I do that when I'm craving something sweet. They're not low-fat, but they're sugar free, so, they semi fit into the plan. She told me to look into 100% cacao bars instead. They give the chocolate flavor, but they're so bitter that you don't want to eat much.

So, what else have I been snacking on? PowerCrunch bars! I ended up eating 1/2 of one today, just because it broke really funny, but I usually only eat 1/3 bar. As I said in a previous post, it's kind of like a two crunchy wafers with a mousse in between, covered in chocolate...

Since my last post, I've tried the Cookies and Cream, and the Mint Chocolate flavors. The Cookies and Cream is amazing. It's a white chocolate coating, with chocolate wafers, and the mousse is a Cookies and Cream mousse. The mint Chocolate is all chocolate, with a hint of mint. It's ok, but it's definitely got less flavor than the others I've tried so far. Still really good though. Again, the dietitian didn't seem too concerned about the PowerCrunch bars, maybe because they're a protein bar? My husband went to GNC yesterday and got me a bunch of flavors... Triple Chocolate, PB Fudge, Chocolate Mint, Cookies and Cream, and Red Velvet. They also have a Mocha flavor, but I don't like coffee, a salted caramel, vanilla, and berries and cream flavor, but none were in stock. I'll have to try those later.

She suggested I drink a second protein shake, but most days that puts me up over 100g protein, so, not so much? She said 90g protein is good though. :)

So my final snacky thing that I've been eating is All-Natural No-Stir Creamy PB. I LOVE Peanut Butter. And I found out that Great Value has an all natural one that has a whopping 3g sugar per serving (It's $3.32 at Wal-mart... same thing, just Aldi Brand is like $1.52... I LOVE Aldi). It's high in fat, but, I'm only eating LITERALLY a cooking tsp. of it... just enough to get me the flavor. And honestly, I think that's why the dietitian wasn't concerned about that either. The thing she's concerned about is how much I'm snacking. She wanted to make sure I'm not grazing all day (I'm not... just a small snack when we get home, and maybe a second one after dinner). Two snacks a day is still a lot though. Part of it was it was that time of the month for me. I'm sure I can cut down my snacking. :)

After I met with the dietitan, I met with my surgeon's PA. She is once again thrilled at my progress (17# down since my last appointment), and told me to keep it up. She ordered my labs that I have to get done before my next appointment (It's like 5 pages of tests they're going to run... I wonder how many vials they'll take), to make sure that I'm not experiencing any vitamin deficiencies, which can happen when you have Gastric Bypass because of the bypass of the duodenal switch. They're also checking my A1C, Thyroid, Protein, Liver, Kidneys... all sorts of major functions. Yay. I hate the vampires... Oh well. The tests are very important, because if I develop deficiencies, it can be VERY serious.

They gave me the option to switch to non-chewable vitamins, but, to be honest, I LOVE my Celebrate Vitamins multi 2-in-1 chew... 4 of those babies a day, and I get all the vitamins I need except iron... which Celebrate has a berry-flavored Iron chewable that I take to fix that. It's awesome. :) I told her I'm sticking with my vitamin regimin because of how easy it is... which is a necessity when you have a two year old. ;)

So, how are your weeks going so far? :)

~♥~
Lady D

130# Down and Quest Cinnamon Crunch

**Forgot to post this yesterday**

So, I forgot to post about this yesterday, but, I hit another milestone... 130# Down! :) Here's the progress shot, and one of my heaviest weight versus now, because, you know, #TransformationTuesday is a thing. And I posted both of those on my Instagram last night.

I'd love to see some of your pictures, post ops! I'm going to say something that I saw and heard from a lot of people, but, I never really followed through. Take LOTS of pictures pre-op. It's so fun to go back and do comparison photos as you start to lose it! :)

So, I tried one of the Quest protein shake packets this morning, "Cinnamon Crunch." The packet had a picture of a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal on the front, which, pre-op was my favorite cereal. I have a serious love of cinnamon, and cinnamon rolls, and all things yummy like that. So, I bought the packet to try. And I want to say, the cinnamon flavor is SPOT. ON. However... what I didn't realize, and I don't remember seeing anywhere on the package, is that there were crunchy bits in the shake... as if it had cereal bits in it. Now, when you're driving to work at 6:15 in the morning, and it's dark, and you take a decent sized sip of shake... you're not expecting to have crunchy bits in your shake. For me, it was a turn-off. However, the silver lining to that, is that it literally tasted like having a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal with milk. So, if that's your thing (I've never done milk with my cereal), by all means, try this. If that's not your thing, skip it for sure. But, yeah, the cinnamon flavor is fantastic. :)

So, how's your week going so far?

~♥~
Lady D

THE SCALE MOVED!!!! And other fun things! :)

Happy Monday dear readers!

My scale FINALLY moved! It was only a pound, but IT MOVED! I'm thrilled, if you can't tell. I also FINALLY took my measurements this weekend... they take my waist measurement every time I go in for a surgery follow-up appointment, but, I finally took all my measurements. I apparently lost another inch off my waist... so, a total of 10" off my waist since June. :)

So, I did some cooking this weekend... I made Eggroll in a Bowl, which I based off of this recipe I found on Pinterest. My recipe is basically the same, and I'm sorry that I don't have any measurements, but, you know, I kind of just eyeball/spice to taste recipes like this...

Eggroll in a Bowl

1 lb. ground pork
Ground ginger
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Bagged Coleslaw Mix
Black Pepper
Minced Garlic
Dehydrated Onion

Brown your pork, and drain off the excess fat. I only ended up using 1/2 the pound, and therefore, I froze the rest.
Put the pork back in the pan, and season with the ginger, black pepper, onion, and garlic.
Add a small amount of sesame oil.
On medium heat, begin mixing the ingredients together. Add 1/2-1 bag of coleslaw mix.
Add about 1/4 c. soy sauce.
Cook over medium heat until the cabbage is lightly wilted but still crunchy.

The other recipe that I made was a take on a Bourbon Street Chicken. It was ok... I'm going to tweak the recipe a bit before I post it, but here's a picture of the dish (that's not my bowl, but my husband's... I can't have rice, and I'm still on 2 oz. portions)

So, tonight, I made GARLIC BREAD. DIET-FRIENDLY GARLIC BREAD. OMG. So, to make it... make the recipe from my pizza, the only change I made was to add a bit extra minced garlic to the egg mixture. Once the crust has baked, mix about a tablespoon of minced garlic and a 1/2 tsp Parsley into a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Take a fork, and poke the top of the garlic bread. Pour the garlic/oil mixture over the bread. I then topped it with about 1/4 c. low moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese. I let it sit a bit, and let the oil soak into the cheese. I put it under the broiler on low to melt the cheese.

Sorry there are a few slices missing... I couldn't wait to try it, and neither could the husband... I'll give you a hint... IT'S AMAZING. OMG.

So, let's talk Protein powders... I've been on a hunt lately for Protein Powder. Sam's Club has stopped carrying my Premier 3# tub online, and I never have time to run to our local Sam's Club to get some. So, I've been trying different kinds to see what I like... Here's the results. Just remember that everyone's tastes vary... so, take what I say with a grain of salt.

Pure Chocolate Protein Powder
Ok, so, I tried the RTD Pure Chocolate shake, and I hated it. But, when I ran out of Premier, I needed to find something, and I knew that Pure was cheaper than Premier, so, I decided to try it. Well... hm. Ok, so, it does have ok chocolate taste, but, it's SUPER chalky tasting. Even my Torani sugar free syrups couldn't touch the chalky taste of it. :/ So, I didn't do more than about two of those shakes before tossing the remainder.

Equate Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
I couldn't find the link for the chocolate, but there's the vanilla. So, this one I kind of oopsed on to start. Every other protein powder I've ever had was one scoop of powder for the shake. So, this one is actually TWO scoops of powder for the shake. Now, I will say, the chocolate in this is ok. But, there's an underlying chemical taste to it that I couldn't really get over. However, with the addition of Raspberry, S'Mores, Salted Caramel, or Hazlenut SF Torani, it helped. So, I was able to do the Equate for a majority of the jug. I will say, I added it to 16 oz. Skim milk, which helped dilute the chemical flavor I think...

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Double Rich Chocolate Whey
A friend recommended this when I mentioned that I was pissed that Sam's Club was getting rid of my Premier online. I hemmed and hawed, since it's $57.99 for 5#... but, we have a GNC right up the street from my house, and they carry it in store, so, I thought, what the hell. I'll give it a try. I think I found my new protein. This was the smoothest shake to date. Easy to mix in the blender bottle, no lumps, no clumps, great flavor. It's SUPER chocolatey, but, it's a bit bitter. I think I'm going to try it tomorrow with some Torani (I didn't use any today, since I wanted to try it straight up). I was super excited to try this after I opened the tub, because the powder smells like Nesquik. And yes, it's delicious. It tastes like chocolate milk. :) They have tons of flavors, so, I'm going to start trying them all. There's no Whey taste to it, at all, and no aftertaste. I LOVE IT. Plus, if I keep getting it at GNC, I'll accumulate points, and get money off. :) So, yes, I found my Protein Powder! :)

I did also buy a few single-serve pouches of Quest flavors while I was at GNC as well. I like Quest's chocolate and vanilla, but, I bought Cookies n' Cream, Cinnamon Crunch, and Salted Caramel while I was at GNC. I'll let you know what I think about them once I try them. :)

And finally, for this post, I'm going to do a little protein bar review. I had been hearing about "Cake Bites," also made by Optimum Nutrition, and just how amazing they are... well, about that... So, I tried all the flavors: Chocolate Frosted Donut, Red Velvet, Berry Cheesecake, Birthday Cake, Chocolate Dipped Cherry, Mint Chocolate. Birthday Cake, which is the one everyone says is the best, was by far, the worst. I ended up just taking a small bite, and tossing the rest away. Chocolate Frosted Donut is meh. I opened the package, and got all excited, because it literally smelled like chocolate frosted donuts. But, it has a HORRIBLE Whey taste to it. Red Velvet is ok... not great. Again, heavy whey flavor. Berry Cheesecake has a strong blueberry flavor, which mostly masks the whey taste, but it's still there, and I can't really get over that. I'm going to have to take a second try of the chocolate covered cherry, since I ate something right before I tried it that made it taste... not good. Finally... Mint Chocolate. The clouds open up, and the sun shines down. This thing literally tastes like an Andes mint. OMG. I LOVE it. No whey flavor AT ALL. It's awesome. It has a LOT of carbs for the amount of protein in each, so, I only eat one bite, and I'm going to do it as a treat now and then. But yes, TOTALLY give the Mint Chocolate a try! :D

I also tried the PowerCrunch bar today... I did 1/3 of one this morning. Triple chocolate. It's great. It's got these wafers in them, with a chocolate mousse in between, and covered in chocolate. It's divine. It's high in fat for the amount of protein that you get, which is why, once again, I won't be doing a full bar at any given time, but, oh yeah. The flavor is awesome. This is honestly the first protein bar that I've come across that I've really liked. GNC has lots of flavors of them, but, Walmart has limited flavors for $0.50 cheaper. So, take your pick. :)

So, that's the end of the fun stuff, and honestly, the end of the post. Sorry it was so long, but, I hope it was fun. Go try some awesome protein, and hey, let me know what you think of the ones I've tried!

~♥~
Lady D

Stalls and Feelings and Weekend Cooking

**Forgot to post this last night**

So, I've been in a stall for over a week now. And I know they happen, but I've also been losing fairly slowly since surgery, and while the dietitians all tell me I'm doing great, it's really messing with my head. I'm having a very negative body image week. I feel like I'm gaining weight (I'm not, I'm just not losing right now), and that I'm doing everything wrong (I'm not. I'm sticking to my plan). It sucks. And I think that's part of what's contributing to my feelings right now.

I have a few things not body image related that are contributing to the feelings as well, but, those are things I can't control. Things at work are changing, as they always do, and I'm kind of stuck in limbo there right now while they're figured out. Not like, I'm not sure if I'll have a job, but, my job responsibilities are most likely going to be changing, and I don't know what that will all entail yet. And not knowing what to expect is pulling at me a bit as well.

I'm also close to that time of the month, which is probably not helping with the stall or the feelings either. I'm just kind of totally bleh today.

In other body-related news, I've been really super tired lately. My sleep habits haven't changed, and I'm getting all of my protein and almost all of my fluids in... I hope I'm not deficient on a vitamin. I have a surgery follow-up on the 22nd, and if I'm not feeling better by then, I'll talk to them. :/

Lastly, yesterday was a horrid, cold, icy day here in Indiana, so, I decided I wanted to make soup. It wasn't on the menu for dinner, so, it's gone into Tupperware and into the freezer for future meals... like later this week/next week. If you follow me on IG (@ladydobz), or Facebook, you've seen the picture of the cooking product, but, here's the recipe.

Twice Baked Cauliflower Soup

1 yellow onion
2 bags frozen cauliflower
8 strips turkey bacon
3 tbsp. FF Sour Cream
2 oz. Neufchatel or other low-fat or fat free cream cheese
4 c. skim milk
1/2 c. Reduced Fat Sharp Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 c. Monterrey Jack Cheese
2 tsp. minced garlic
salt
pepper
cumin (you can omit this... I just like cumin on my potatoes, so, since I was trying to make this like a potato soup, I added it here too)
A few splashes of Frank's Red Hot sauce (again, you can omit this if you choose, I just like it hot! ^.~)

Slice the onion, caramelize it, set aside.
Fry up the turkey bacon, drain off any grease, and then chop and dice it.
Add the bacon, garlic, and the cauliflower to the pot with the onion.
Over medium heat, add the milk, and the neufchatel or cream cheese, and the sour cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the cheese is mixed in.
Add the cheddar cheese, and stir until melted in.
Add the Monterrey Jack cheese, and stir until it's mixed in.
Season with seasonings to taste.
I let it simmer for about a half an hour before I pulled it off.

As I was pouring it into the Tupperware, I noticed that some of the cheese had not fully melted in, and the soup was starting to separate a little. This used to happen when I made my twice baked potato soup too. When you reheat it, make sure to stir it a lot (either when microwaving or on the stove), and it should mix together. I'm toying with the idea of throwing it in the food processor before I reheat it to make a nice thick blended soup. We'll see. Here's the pic of it while it's cooking. I'm planning on topping it with a little extra cheese and a few turkey bacon crumbles. :)

So, how was everyone's weekend?

~♥~
Lady D

Taco Bake

So, when I was making the menu this week, I realized I wanted to try and make a taco pizza... So, I took the recipe for the crust of the No-Carb Pizza, and adapted it to a taco bake... while there was a bit much on top to make it a pizza, per se, it did make a fabulous taco bake... so, here you go!

Low-Carb Taco Bake

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 c. Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano cheese
2 c. Taco cheese
Taco Sauce
Taco Meat
Fat Free Refried Beans
Salsa
Fat Free Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 350°.
Grease 13x9 inch baking pan.
In food processor or with electric mixer, combine cream cheese and eggs until smooth.
Add the milk, Parmesan, garlic and spices.
Blend until ingredients are well combined.
Sprinkle the Asiago, Parmesan, or Romano cheese and 1 cup of the taco cheese in the bottom of the greased baking pan.
Pour egg mixture over the cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes then remove from oven.
Spread a thin layer of refried beans on the crust.
Add taco sauce over the beans, and top with the taco meat.
Cover with remaining 1 cup taco cheese.
Using oven broiler on high, broil a few inches from the heat elements until top is brown and bubbly.
Let sit for a few minutes before cutting.
Top with desired taco toppings.

The portion pictured was not my plate, but my husband's. I did a fourth of that, with a little sour cream in addition to the salsa. It warms up really well in the microwave as well. :)

~♥~
Lady D

Transformation Tuesday

So, if you're part of any WLS Support groups online, a big thing is Transformation Tuesday. It's literally where you post a pre-op picture, or a picture of you at your heaviest weight, and a post-op or current picture of you in your journey. I haven't really felt like I could take part all that much up until now... until I realized what shirt I was wearing last night. I happened to look down, and realize that the shirt I was wearing was the same one I'm wearing in my HW pic... And the result is glorious. :D

Ignore the dirty mirror. But, as you can see, that's BIG difference... I mean... 157# is all... ;) And yes, I do have the shirt bunched up and tied back in the last couple of pics. But it's the only way I could show the size difference. Obviously, this shirt has been relegated to "night shirt only" status. :D

My husband told me that it was really cute the other night. I've mentioned on here before how my daughter brings my cup to me if she notices that I don't have it. Well, I left my clear tumbler on my nightstand the other night, almost full (I was trying to catch up on liquids, and fell asleep before I could finish my 20 oz.), and he said that she pointed it, got a big scowl on her face, and said "MOMMA." He laughed, looked back at her, and said, "Yup. Momma didn't drink her fluids." My family is learning healthy habits with me, as evidenced by my daughter's disappointment in my lack of fluid. ROFL. :D

How about you? Do you have any exciting #transformationtuesday pics or stories? I'd love to see/hear them! :)

~♥~
Lady D

Weekend Cooking, Self Care, and an Oops... Plus... Big Surprise? Not so much.

Happy Monday All!

Did everyone have a good weekend? Mine started out not so great, but finished up ok. :)

So, Thursday, I left work at 9:30am, with a horrible headache, and a low-grade fever (99*F). I basically spent the day in my sweats, hoodie, buried under a blanket in bed. Bad, bad day. Friday was a bit better, but not by much. I still stayed at home, still with the headache, but the fever was gone. Saturday I was better.

Saturday I made steak fajita egg bites out of leftover steak fajitas from a local Mexican restaurant. Egg bites are of course based on The World According to Eggface's Egg Bites.

They are fabulous. I still do them with some salsa on top. :)

Yesterday, I had to bake cupcakes to take to my daughter's sitter today, since today is her birthday. I'm totally proud of myself, because I did not taste the batter or lick the frosting at all. And frosting is a trigger food for me. So, yay for conquering my trigger foods. I did decide to make myself a treat though. I found a recipe on Pinterest for "Cheese crisps." Basically, Cheese-Its but made out of cheese... that's been baked... and that's it. I placed 1/4 slices of pepperjack cheese, and 1/6 slices of provolone cheese on some parchment paper, and stuck it in a 250* oven for 20 minutes.

The pepperjack comes out spicy and a bit chewy, and the provolone comes out crispy and smoky. I'm not a huge fan of the provolone, so, unless I'm using it to dip pesto or bruschetta, I probably won't be making that one again, but the pepperjack is awesome. I did read that it's better if you use the Sargento Ultra Thin slices to get them nice and crispy, or you can pop them under the broiler for a bit to get them to crisp up. They're great straight from the fridge, or, I intend to use them with salsa to dip. :)

I haven't really felt like pampering myself at all since surgery, and that's not a great thing. Self-care is a big part of every day life, and so I decided to give myself an at-home pedicure. Before I could get that far though, my little one saw me looking at my different nail polishes and decided that she wanted some. So, I painted her nails since today is her 2nd birthday.

After hers were done (she LOVED them), I gave myself a pedicure. I don't really do much with my nails, because I hate taking care of them... hate redoing them. Polish seems to stay longer on my toes, and no one sees them anyways, so, if it's a day or two before I can take care of the chipping, ect. it's no biggie.

Even though it looks black, the color is actually a really dark, dark purple.

The husband and I also went to the mall this weekend, and we hit up the Think Geek store. They had t-shirts by one get one free, $15. I got a super cool Jack Skellington shirt

and a Luna from Sailor Moon shirt. The Luna shirt is a Junior's size Large, which I can't quite fit into yet, but since I'm still losing, I'm hoping on getting into. If not, oh well. I also got my final birthday present in the mail over the weekend... I got my Fitbit Charge HR 2!

So, the oops I mentioned above is actually kind of a cool Oops. When I was at my last appointment, the dietitian told me that she found a 380# weight from when I was in pre-op. So, I had started counting at my first dietitan class, and that's still what I count as my starting weight, but, if I go from the 380# weight, I get to see this:

Pretty cool. :D

Finally, the big exciting thing I mentioned in previous posts? Yeah, not happening. It was that I was looking into going back to school to become a registered dietitian, but, because of a few factors, no, it's not happening. It kind of sucks, I was totally excited for it, but, meh. We have other dreams that were going to have to get put on hold while I went back to school, so, we can pursue those instead. :)

So, how was everyone's weekend? Anything exciting happen?

~♥~
Lady D

Bueller... Bueller... Bueller...

Hey guys,

Sorry I've been absent for a bit. Not a whole lot to post right now, and honestly, there's something maybe exciting brewing in my life, but, nothing I can post about right now. And NO, I'm NOT pregnant. I always crack up when you say you have news, or something exciting, that if you're a female, you're automatically pregnant. Or so people assume. Someone else threw me for a loop this time around and guessed that I was becoming a stay-at-home mom. That makes me giggle, because we considered that once... and then realized that with the HUGE amounts of student loans that we have that that's not happening. Oh well. Stay tuned for the exciting news, and I'll post about it when I can... if it ends up happening.

This past weekend, we had my daughter's second birthday party. And there are moments in your life after you've started this journey that you see yourself, and go... WOW. I've changed. I had that moment this weekend... My mother-in-law posted this picture of my daughter and I on facebook, and I was just like... holy cow I've lost weight!

The pic on the right is from her first birthday party last year... so, almost a year apart. I mean, I've seen my comparison pictures, but, I feel like in my "everyday" clothes versus my work clothes, I look so different. :/

It was a good party. I made carb-free pizza, and turkey meatballs in SF BBQ, and we also got Pizza Hut pizza and wings. I bought her a cake, which I of course couldn't eat, but I had a tiny bite of Halo Top Red Velvet Cake ice cream, and a fresh strawberry. It worked. :)

How's your week going?

~♥~
Lady D

Mexican Bacon Turkey Skillet and Saggy Skin :/

So, I kind of made this up on the fly. After last week's success with the Philly Cheesesteak StirFry from The World According to Eggface, my husband asked for more stir-frys or skillet meals. Well, hell. There's a ton on Pinterest and such, but none that are bari-friendly. So, I thought about what we used to eat, many, many, moons ago, and Hamburger Helper came to mind. He and I LOVED the Mexican rice hamburger helpers. So, I made a bari-friendly easy Hamburger Helper-style meal. And he liked it. Honestly, you could fix this up any way you want it, but this is what I did...

Mexican Bacon Turkey Skillet

-1 bag riced cauliflower
-6 slices cooked turkey bacon, chopped (I used some that I had cooked up earlier in the week... just pulled it from the fridge, chopped it, and tossed it in)
-1- 4 oz. can green chilis, drained
-1 lb. ground turkey
-1 packet Taco Bell taco seasoning
-About 1/4 c. Mild Taco Bell Sauce
-About 1/2 tsp. dehydrated onion
-About 1/2 c. 2% Reduced Fat Mexican Blend Cheese
-Toppings

-Thaw and drain your riced cauliflower, being sure to squeeze out all the extra water using a cheesecloth, paper towel, or kitchen towel.
-Put about a tbsp. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) in a medium skillet, and begin to saute your cauliflower.
-Pour in your can of chilis, and your dehydrated onion.
-After you have a beginning saute on your chilis and onions, add your ground turkey, turkey bacon, packet of taco seasoning, and taco sauce.
-Cook on medium heat until turkey is cooked through.
-Top with cheese, and put a lid on the pan just to melt the cheese.
-Serve with your choice of taco toppings.

I wanted to add black beans to this, but my husband nixed that idea. I topped mine with salsa, and it would also be good with some plain Greek yogurt or light sour cream. I just ate mine as is in a bowl. To give my husband something extra, I put his on top of some Doritos, and he loved it. Said it was like a walking taco from back in school. :) This warms up very well (I had some for breakfast this morning), and it's just very good. I will warn you, it doesn't look pretty. But it tastes awesome. Plus! If your plan allows it, you could add corn to this for another layer of flavor... maybe a little lime and avocado... yum! I think that this would be best with a shredded meat though... shredded beef, chicken, or pork particularly. Husband liked it though, so, it's being added to our regular dinner menu. :)

Give it a try, let me know what you think! :)

So, the second part of this post is the pictures I promised... the saggy skin. If you don't want to see it, turn away now...

The belly is hard to see still, because I still have a lot to lose there... but as you can see, the arms and Thighs are bad... but, as my aunt pointed out, the alternative is worse... My husband really helps with the self-confidence thing... it really doesn't seem to bother him that I have the saggy skin. But we're getting the arms fixed (at least you can see the definition of them now!!), and the belly once I'm much closer to goal weight.

~♥~
Lady D

Thyroid, and things...

So, I saw my thyroid doctor on Monday. I don't have to go see him for another two years... *sigh* Thyroid problems aren't gone, but they aren't bad enough for medication or surgery... My thyroid is still larger than normal, but not nearly as large as he expected it to be (I've been trying to tell people for years that I have a big neck... now that I've lost all the weight in my neck, I can prove that I really do just have a big neck!), so, he wasn't concerned about that. I have 5+ nodules, but they're all small (My largest was 0.8 cm... 1 cm is when they start considering biopsy), which means there's almost no chance of cancer, and no point in biopsying. He also said that they have a "comet-tail" appearance, which apparently is also an indicator that they're all benign, and there's no point in biopsying. So, as he said, "Chill out, and wait." :) Sounds good to me... one less doctor's appointment I have to worry about.

Monday, while I was walking around at work, I had a co-worker stop me who hadn't seen me full-body in a while (I sit at a desk). She was speechless. She just kept gesturing to my whole body with her hand. Apparently I look much smaller than when she last saw me. Hehe. She and another co-worker who happened to walk up and ask what was so amazing, were FLOORED that I've lost 120# (now 121#! :D)... They said that they couldn't believe how much I had lost, and one of them said that she never would have thought that I had that much to lose. :)

I'm still not where I need to be, and I still need to lose 70-90 more pounds. It's coming off slowly, but slow is good. It's giving my skin time to catch up.

I was talking to my sister this past weekend about that. Apparently the person I mentioned that I thought was jealous had said that part of the reason it's hard to believe that I lost so much weight is that you can't see the saggy skin. Well, trust me... I have it. If I get brave... I'll take some pictures. I won't take any in my undies... I'm not THAT brave. But I might pull up my shirt, and show my belly, and maybe take one in a tank or a super short sleeve so you can see the arms. My thighs aren't too pretty either, but, I'd have to have someone help me take that pic... we'll see. I'm not a fan of my body right now, as I mentioned, but, it's my body. It's healthier than it was before. :)

So, how's your week so far? :)

~♥~
Lady D

Weekend Fun

Hello lovely readers! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! :)

My mom and sister came in to town to help celebrate my daughter's birthday, and we had a blast. :) I got to cook some yummy and healthy meals for them (orange chicken and cauliflower fried rice, black forest ham and cheese egg bites, cauliflower hash browns, and chicken sausage, and then the carb free pizza with carmalized onions, pepperoni, and banana peppers), which they loved... especially the pizza. My mom and sis each went back for seconds. I think we are for sure doing that this weekend for my daughter's other birthday celebration with my husband's family. :)

I was thinking about my daughter's birthday last year, and wanted to go find a pic for a size comparison this year. I found the perfect one, because while I've given away a TON of clothes, I still had this outfit, and was able to show you guys the size difference IN the outfit. :)

The shirt is a 3XL men's shirt, and the pants are either a 3XL or a 26/28 pants. As you can see, the arms of the shirt were super tight, and the shirt itself, I completely filled. The pants look tight in that pic, at least in the thighs and my upper legs. So... comparison photos???

So... yeah. In the shirt picture, I came to the realization that my husband (6'4", and about 280#) and I could BOTH fit into the shirt. The pants? Heh. I'm standing in ONE leg of them. So... about that. :D

My sister brought me some clothes that don't fit her right, one of which was a pair of Men's sweats, size Large. When she told me size large, I never thought I'd fit into them. :/ I figured my hips and thighs would totally prevent that...

Or not! Yup. I'm in a size men's large in sweats. Now, the fact that they're Toledo Rockets sweats hurts... I went to BGSU for college, and they're mortal enemies. Hence me wearing my Falcons shirt (GO BGSU!!!) with the Rockets sweats. But, they're free, they're comfy, and dammit, I need clothes. Just like if we ever go to Goodwill and they have something cute Colts, even though I'm a Browns fan, I won't say no to buying Colts stuff... besides, as long as the Colts aren't playing the Browns, I have no issues with them. :)

Oh! I'm sure you noticed as well that I'm wearing my hair down in most of these pictures... that's because my sister cut it for me. It really needed it. She ended up taking off about 6". :D

Finally, this morning, when I weighed myself, I have hit another weight-loss milestone. I'm 120# down since April.

So, yay me. It looks like my plateau is over for now. :)

So, I've seen a lot of questions in the weight loss groups/sites I'm in/on lately about where you measure your stats from. I look at a few when I'm measuring.

HW (Heaviest Weight) 393(back around 2009)
Starting Weight (I don't actually list this one in my stats anywhere, but it's where I'm counting from when I do my 120# down, ect.) 363 (My first supervised dietitian weight loss class in April)
SW (Surgery Weight) 278
CW (Current Weight) 243
GW (Goal Weight) 175-150 (I'm not sure what I really want to be at... I just picked a broad spectrum, and will be happy when I'm healthy)

A lot of programs I guess give you a number they want you to be at for "goal weight." My surgeon has never said a number to me, only that I had a lot of weight to lose (she was totally right on that). I still have a good amount of weight to lose to be totally healthy. But I've made a great start so far, and I'm only... holy cow... today is my 2 month Surgiversary! :) So... I'm 35# down in the two months since surgery, and 120# down since April. Awesome. :D

Today I'm seeing my endocrinologist, who has been following my thyroid issues. Hopefully, since I've lost all this weight, my thyroid issues have... gotten better. I won't say resolved, since it runs in my family, I doubt they resolved, but, we'll see. :) I'll let you know.

Have a wonderful week, readers, and stay tuned for more stuffs this week! :)

~♥~
Lady D

No Carb Pizza!!!

OMG. GUYS. SERIOUSLY. THIS. IS. FABULOUS!!!!

No Carb Pizza... the link to the original recipe is on the name... I did change a few things, but not a whole lot. I switched out the regular cream cheese for Fat-Free cream cheese, I used 1% milk instead of heavy cream... used Light Parmesan, used Low-Moisture, Part-Skim Mozzarella instead of full-fat Mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni, I also instead of 1/2 tsp. oregano, did 1/4 tsp. each oregano and basil. For pizza sauce, Contadina Squeeze sauce is actually very good, and only has 3g sugar per serving. So, basically, I cut fat and calories wherever I could. I halved the recipe for this, since we had never tried it before, and I didn't want a ton of food waste if we didn't like it... but... OMG. WE LOVE IT. It will be made again... soon. We've even decided that we're making it for my daughter's second birthday party. We're also going to get some regular pizzas, just because of how many people we're feeding, but this is totally going to be on the table too. :)

The top pic is the crust before I sauced and topped it, and the bottom pic is the pizza after it was done. I also say, follow the recipe, and throw that puppy under the broiler. Baby, baby!!! Fantastic. My husband, who is a non-op, ate two servings, and inhaled them both. I'll let you know how it reheats. I have 3 slices (my portion was 1/16 of my 9x9 pan... which was about 2 oz.) of my own left, and I'll probably try reheating each a different way... skillet, microwave, and oven. I'll let you know what's best. :)

Oh! Pro-tip for eating out. If you go to Chipotle, order a kids' meal. I had a vendor bring in lunch today, and I ordered a kids' meal. I had them hold the tortillas (did I mention I don't like food waste?), ordered barbacoa, fajita veggies, and pico de gallo. I asked for a side of cheese. It comes with either fruit or chips (I took the fruit), and a drink (the vendor got me apple juice, which I gave to my daughter). They give you like, 4 oz. of meat, and 4 oz. of each of the other toppings you pick. I ate two ounces of meat, and 1/4 cheese, and about 1/3 of veggies and pico. So, I literally have a whole second meal. Plus, if you get it to go, they give you your side of cheese and your cutie (or halo, not sure which), in these great 4 oz. portion cups, which make it very easy to take stuff home in! :)

So, go out with people, get two meals for the price of one! And it's WAY cheaper than a regular burrito bowl. :) Do you have any eating out pro-tips?

~♥~
Lady D

Ice, Jealousy, and Cheesesteak...

Well, the end of yesterday could have gone better... for the most part it was a good day, except I slipped on some ice on the sidewalk last night... couldn't even see it. But this right here is yet another affirmation that this journey is totally right for me. If I had done that this time last year, I'd have been in the ER, having X-Rays on my hip, elbow, shoulder, and wrist. When I slipped, I landed pretty hard on my left side. Honestly, I'm just a little sore today... but 117# ago? Yeah... totally different story. Be safe out there guys!

However, my butt is killing me today. Probably a TMI, but, let me explain. So, right after my surgery, we finally got a new mattress. We got a nice firm spring mattress. We had been sleeping on a memory foam, and it was breaking down BAD. So, somehow, last night, my body decided to sleep on my back... I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet on here, but, I have no butt anymore. Like... it's gone. That was one of the first things to go. So, my poor tailbone is not used to dealing with all this pressure without the extra padding. So, me sleeping on my back last night means I woke up in pretty severe pain this morning. I have no idea what possessed me to sleep on my back last night... I'm usually a belly or side sleeper. O.O Oh well, that'll show me. LOL.

So... I sent a friend the picture I posted on here the other day of me in June, and me last Saturday. I knew that they had been trying to lose weight, and back when I was a size 22 or 20, and said that I'd be an 18 before long, they said that if I got to an 18, they'd have to get the surgery. So, I sent the pic of me in my size Large shirt, and my size 16 misses jeans. They didn't say anything back to me, but apparently said something to another friend of mine. Word is that they were literally in disbelief. Like, said that there's no way that I could be in a size large shirt, because that's what they wore, and that's just not possible, and that I couldn't be in a size 16 misses jeans, because that's what another friend of ours wears (she doesn't... she wears a size 11 American Eagle... whatever that means), and with me having been so big that there's just NO WAY that I'm that small now. The friend they were talking to asked why I would lie about something like that. They had no answer. So, the only thing I can think of is that they're jealous.

This makes me feel really weird. Like, I look at that pic from Saturday, and I honestly don't think that there's ANY WAY that I really look that small. That it's just a good angle. But, my husband took the pic, and he knows that he has to be brutally honest with me right now, and he said that no, I'm really that small. He said something to that effect last night again... that I don't realize just how small I'm getting.... I think we were talking about my ability to fit in some clothes that I hadn't worn in a while... he said he thought they'd be way too big on me... turns out he was right. LOL.

As I kind of mentioned in the previous post, I'm having a lot of body issues right now. Like, I see the number on the scale going down, and I can visually see sometimes, how small I am (last night I was laying in bed on my back, with my knees propped up, and I was astounded at how small my thighs looked), and other times, all I see is fat (like when I look at my belly and arms). Now, I know that some of the "fat" I'm seeing is actually loose skin, and that will be taken care of when I eventually have plastic surgery. Well... some of it. I'm only planning on having two procedures right now, one of which I'm hoping to get covered by insurance. :/

But yeah, this head stuff is no joke, guys. Losing the weight will not make you love your body. Having the surgery will not make you love your body. My husband helps me to love my body, in that he loves it, and tells me how beautiful I am, and such, and honestly, that is HUGE. But, I still don't always see it. :( I guess it will just take time.

So, I made something AWESOME last night. It's another Eggface recipe... Philly Cheesesteak Stirfry. For mine, I just used diced green pepper, diced red onion, diced cold cut roast beef, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and because I don't like Worchestershire sauce, I used a little soy sauce instead. We topped it with sliced provolone cheese, and voila. My husband ate his as an open-faced sandwich, and I ate mine in my little bowl. I forgot to take a picture of it in the pan, when it was all nice and pretty, but here is my little 2.5 oz (I went a little bigger because the dietitians want me to have more veggies) portion.

Not too pretty to look at there, but super easy, and yummy. Seriously, if you're looking for recipes, and you haven't checked out The World According to Eggface blog, go check her out! She's awesome. :D Tonight, we're doing a "Pizza Casserole" which is not hers... it's one I found on Pinterest. I'm going to have to edit the recipe, but, we'll see how it turns out. If it's good, I'll share the recipe tomorrow. :D

~♥~
Lady D