End of 2017

So, I've seen a lot of people posting pictures from the beginning of this year, and the end of this year to show their Journey's progress. Here's mine:

The picture on the far left is at my husband's work Christmas party last year. The other two I took this morning. My final weigh in for the year was 254#... which means that I've lost a grand total of 109# since April. Go me. :D

We've had some not so pleasant weather as of late... so this morning I got up and shoveled the driveway.

About 2-3" snow was on the ground, and it was snowing lightly. I was able to shovel the whole driveway plus the sidewalks in front of our house without stopping to take a break. There's no way in hell I could have done that last year. This journey has already been so amazing for me, and honestly, I'm still at the beginning! I can't wait to see where it takes me. :D

So, I tried this new product that someone in my surgeon's Facebook group mentioned... BariWise hot cocoa. I bought a box of the Variety Pack. Since it was so cold last night... 1* outside, I tried a packet at random... I pulled Amaretto. It was ok. I'm not a fan of Amaretto to start with, but, it wasn't bad. Today, after shoveling for around an hour, I still can't get warm (it's 10:55 now, I came back in around 9:30), so, I made another packet... this one is the Cinnamon packet. I've never thought of Cinnamon and Chocolate together, but this is very good! I make it with around 8 oz. boiling water, and it's rich and creamy. It's got a decent amount of protein in it, and it's low cal compared to regular hot cocoa. It's a little on the pricey side... around $14/box, but, it's very good. :D

I don't usually do New Year's resolutions, but I'm going to make some this year...

-To get closer to my goal weight (175-150#) next year
-To continue to pursue exercise
-To maintain my diet
-To be healthy and Happy

Do you do resolutions? I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year's!!! Bring on 2018!!!

~♥~
Lady D

All the fat...

Does any other post-op out there sometimes still look at themselves in the mirror, or even just look down at themselves and see fat? See the person that they used to be? I've lost 107# since April. And 137# overall. That's nothing to be ashamed of. And I'm looking fabulous compared to where I used to be. But I can't always see it...

Take today for example. I was texting a friend on my lunch break (she's the amazing woman from The RNY Journey that I mentioned before), and I came to the realization that if my boobs did not start shrinking, that I would have to have a breast reduction. They're finally starting to get in my way. -.- So, to prove my point, I sent her this pic:

And then I was looking at the pic, and I'm like... there's no way that I look that thin in real life... it's just the angle of the camera... Asked another friend, and she said, nope. Not the camera angle. That's how thin I look. O.O You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Now, don't get me wrong. There are some days that I look at myself, and I think about how good I'm looking, and I feel confident... sexy even. But... yeah. Other days, it's a struggle... I was just curious if this is a common thing, or if it's something unique to me. I'd love to hear from not just post-ops, but anyone with dramatic weight loss. I know that the body part of our transformations is just part of it. There's a lot of head stuff to work on too. :/

~♥~
Lady D

Scramble!

So, my husband found these awesome Chicken Breakfast Sausages at Aldi, and I've been craving sausage since I've been on my liquid Diet, so, I made an egg scramble last night. It actually turned out really good! You could add lots of other things to it to, but my fridge is kind of empty right now, so, this is what I made. :D

Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Scramble

-2 large eggs
-2 Aldi Chicken Breakfast Sausage Links
-About 1/4 c. milk
-About 2 tbsp. LF Sharp Cheddar Cheese
-Salt
-Pepper

-Slice up the two sausage links, set aside.
-Crack eggs in a bowl, mix in milk, salt and pepper.
-Beat eggs.
-Add the sliced sausage links and cheese.
-Mix until well combined.
-Saute in pan over medium heat, stirring continually until eggs are desired consistency.
-Refrigerate leftovers.

When I portioned this out, it made 4- 2 oz. portions, which is perfect for me. I had one last night for dinner, and one this morning for breakfast. Surprisingly, it warms up quite well. :)

So, as I think I said, I made SF Cheesecake Mousse to take to my husband's family Christmas (the big family Christmas, not the one with just his immediate family... that's this weekend). Well, my sister-in-law asked me to bring another dessert this weekend that I'm allowed to eat so that they could all try it. Well, at that Christmas, my brother-in-law had made this pumpkin pie, pudding, Cool Whip dessert. Totally something I couldn't have since it had a graham cracker crust, and asking him about it, it also had sugar AND powdered sugar in it... So, I decided to make my own version. :D

It starts with the low-carb pumpkin cake that I made before... but improved a bit... and then pudding, and then cool whip, garnished with cinnamon. So, here it is:

Pumpkin Pudding Dessert (I know, I come up with the best names xD)

-1 can 15 oz. pure pumpkin
-4 large eggs
-1/2 c. milk
-2 tsp. vanilla
-1 c. Splenda (one of the improvements)
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (another improvement)
-1 tsp. cinnamon
For the Pudding:
-1 large box SF Vanilla Pudding
-3 c. milk
For the topping:
-1 tub SF or Light Cool Whip

-Preheat the oven to 350*
-Mix the pumpkin, eggs, 1/2 c. milk, vanilla, Splenda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon together in a large bowl until well blended.
-Dump pumpkin mixture into a well-greased baking dish (I really like the oval ones that I have in the picture, but you could really use whatever kind you wanted... however, I don't think this would stretch to a 9x13.
-While the cake is baking, mix the pudding mix and three cups of milk until well blended.
-Put in the refrigerator to set.
-Bake the pumpkin mixture until a knife comes out cleanly. For me, it took an hour in the pan that I used. Depending on the type of pan you use will depend on baking time.
-Let the pumpkin cake cool.
-Once cooled, top the cake with the SF Vanilla pudding.
-Top that with the Cool Whip.
-Sprinkle cinnamon on top for garnish.
-Enjoy.

This is so simple, it's stupid. It looks pretty, and I bet it's going to taste pretty darned good too. I tried a small bite of the cake, and it's much sweeter this time, which is good. The thing I didn't notice about the directions of the last pumpkin cake was that you're supposed to refrigerate the leftovers, so, last night we came home, and I went to toss the old pumpkin cake because it's a week old, and it was moldy, and smelly. Oops. Oh well. Now I know. :)

So, tomorrow, we'll be headed to Ohio to see my brother and sister-in-law, their kids, and my in-laws for Christmas. It will be fun. And then my mother and father-in-law will be taking my daughter home with them until the third because her sitter is closed. She's going to get spoiled rotten again. :) This will be fun for my husband and I, because I have New Year's Day off. He gets a half day that day... so, we're going to do a date night. We're going to go out to eat (Texas Roadhouse I think... they have a Steak and Shrimp combo for $15.50... AND I have a birthday coupon for a free appetizer), and then go see the Jumanji movie. It looks funny. I'll let you know how it is.

I'm interested to see how eating out goes post-op. I went out to eat with my in-laws about two weeks post-op, but the restaurant we went to didn't have any foods I could eat since I was still on the full liquids phase. We'll see how this goes. I'll let you all know. In case I don't write again, have a Safe and Happy New Year's! :)

~♥~
Lady D

Solid Foods... and other strangeness...

So, yay! I called today to see if I could get approved for solid foods by Friday since a- I have family Christmas with my husband's immediate family, and being able to eat normal foods makes life easier, and b- The husband and I are doing date night on Monday, since the baby will be staying with her Grandma and Papa for a few days. Answer: YES! I'm good to move to solid foods at any time, as long as they stick to the plan of no carb, high protein, low sugar, low fat. No problem... and perfect timing too, since last night, I didn't have much to eat in the house, so... I broke the rules a little. I cut up 2 oz. of left over turkey, mixed it with some soy sauce and sesame oil, pepper, and garlic powder, and heated it up in the microwave. It was super moist, and I bit off teeny tiny bites and chewed it really well. Honestly, with how it came out, it was no different than the canned chicken I had been eating...

Plus, it gave me the Asian food flavor I've been craving. It was actually quite good. Now, I'm going to say this in big capital letters, so that you all understand it. DO NOT BREAK THE RULES LIKE I DID. FOLLOW YOUR SURGEON'S/DIETITIAN'S GUIDELINES. There. My PSA is done. :)

Now onto the other strangeness part of this post. So, on Christmas Eve, late... like, 11pm, I was taking a shower, and noticed there was something poking out of one of my incisions. It kind of looked like a thick fishing wire. So, since it was Christmas Eve, and the Surgeon's Office was closed until today, 12/27, and it wasn't bothering me, I let it go. Well, yesterday, when I was at work (remember, I work for a Heart Surgeon's office), I showed it to a co-worker who told me it looked like the non-dissolvable part of a dissolvable stitch.

Sorry the pics are blurry, they're the best I could do since it's so small. But, yeah, the office said this can be normal. It's nothing to worry about. Even though it's coming up through my incision, it doesn't hurt. It just feels funny if I run my hand over it. As long as it doesn't start looking like it's getting infected, we're good.

If something like this happens, even if it seems small, I STRONGLY urge you to call your surgeon's office. Who knows what it could be!

The last bit of strangeness is regarding singing. If you know me in person... you know that I sing. It's what I do. I've always been in choir, my mom has sung my whole life, and I just always sing. Well, shortly before I started my journey, I noticed that it was getting harder for me to sing. Not just with the breathing aspects, but also my voice cracked... a lot... and I couldn't hit notes I used to be able to hit. Well, hey, guess what? After losing 107#, my voice sounds better, doesn't crack, and I have very few breath problems while singing. Go figure. After thinking about it, it makes sense. Being overweight, your body is struggling already. Add in singing, which takes a bit out of you, and yeah. You're going to struggle. So, if any of you are singers, be prepared to change. For me the change was for the better... my range opened back up. :D

Finally, I want to give a big shout out to all my readers. I know that you guys don't comment, but I literally have readers from all over the world (USA, Germany, Poland, Qatar, Ukraine, Israel, France, Canada, Portugal, Peru, Italy, and Russia! [At least that's what shows up on my stats from Blogger]) that read my blog, and you guys are awesome. I never really thought that my journey through this would reach so many people, or even be interesting enough to so many people to keep you all coming back. I hope that you find it interesting, or helpful (this is a scary journey to go through alone!). I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment, letting me know where you're from, and how far along in your journey that you are (if you're on the journey!). We can totally do this together! By the way, I don't know that I've ever said, but, I live in Indiana, USA. :)

How's your week going?

~♥~
Lady D

Say What????

So, I've been stealing some of my husband's old shirts (XL's) that are a little too small for him anymore. And I noticed that while they were still fitting well in the bust, they were extremely loose in the belly. So... when we were in Key West on the cruise, I had bought myself a size "Large" shirt, because it was a whole $5, and I knew that post-op, I'd be losing a ton of weight. I had tried it on not too long ago, and it was CRAZY tight. Well, yesterday, after seeing the XL being loose, I decided to try the large on again...

GUYS!!!! OMG. It fit without being AS crazy tight. Don't get me wrong, it's still tight (especially in the bust!). And I'm still not wearing it regularly, but it wasn't crazy tight! I could actually wear it out and about and not be looked at like a circus freak. OMG. A LARGE!!!!! :D

So, how was everyone's Christmas? Did we eat too much (I was a good girl... just a bit of ham, and a tiny bite of the SF pumpkin cake I made), or stay within our plans/diets? The pumpkin cake was very good, btw. My husband complained that it was not as sweet as a normal pumpkin pie, so, I'm going to up the amount of Splenda I put in it to 1/2 c. and see if that helps. :) Hope you all have a wonderful week! Anyone planning resolutions for next year? I'll reveal mine closer to the day. :D

~♥~
Lady D

Christmas Party and Pumpkin Cake

So, last night was my husband's family's Christmas party. There was A LOT of food. Like, a TON. Cheesy hashbrown potatoes, mac-n-cheese, queso dip, chili con queso, Mexican Rice (my mother-in-law had a taco bar), lots of chocolate and desserts, ham baked in brown sugar and pineapple. LOTS AND LOTS of delicious food. And you know what I made for the party? Cheesecake Mousse. So, SF Cool Whip and SF Cheesecake pudding mixed together.

All I ate at the party was my 2 oz. of canned chicken with a bit of taco sauce, LF cheddar cheese, a tiny dollop of queso, and a super small bite of my mousse. Honestly, that's why I made it. So that I COULD have a bite of dessert. I also brought a loaf of Stollen... a German Christmas bread that the dealership gave me when we signed the papers on my new car yesterday. Obviously I couldn't have that.

Tomorrow is Christmas. My daughter is in bed, in her new Christmas jammies. We read her new Christmas book that she opened. Cookies and milk are out for Santa, and there's room under the tree for Santa's presents. My husband and I have to build her toy box that we bought for her, and put a big bow on it... I am NOT wrapping that honking thing. Tomorrow we're having friends over. I'm baking a ham and a turkey breast, making cheesy hash brown potatoes (I would also be making cauliflower hash browns, but I can't have them yet), green beans, and a low-carb pumpkin "cake." The consistency of the cake is something that I should be able to eat. I found the original recipe on Pinterest, but I made a few changes to the recipe... My version is below.

Low-Carb Pumpkin Cake

-1 15 oz. Can Pumpkin
-1/2 c. milk
-4 large eggs
-1/4 c. Splenda
-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
-1 tsp. Cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1 sm. pkg. vanilla SF Jell-O pudding
-1 tub SF or Lite Cool Whip

-Preheat oven to 350*.
-Grease a glass pan.
-Mix all ingredients but the Cool Whip in a big bowl.
-Pour the well-mixed ingredients into the greased pan. I did an oblong oval pan (see picture); the original recipe calls for an 8" square pan.
-Bake for 40 mins or until a knife comes out clean (in the pan that I used, it took an hour).
-Top with Cool Whip, and enjoy.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you know how it is. :D

For any who celebrate, have a Merry Christmas!!!

~♥~
Lady D

Soft Food!!!!

So last night (again, rebel here) I got to move to soft foods. I had canned chicken mixed with Taco Bell store-bought taco sauce, a small amount of LF shredded cheddar cheese, and a small amount of Pace Queso. It is fabulous. My new tummy wasn't too sure of it at first, but, it's not too bad now (I had it again for breakfast).

For lunch today, one of my awesome surgeons had Maggiano's catered for his annual Christmas lunch that he hosts. Of course, it was all pasta... the spaghetti DID have meatballs on it I could've had... if I were advanced to full solids already.... but, since I'm not, and I knew it was coming, I had a great idea... Please, steal this idea and adapt it for yourself. So, if you know in advance what kind of food is coming, bring your lunch, but match the type of food. Since I knew Maggiano's was coming today, I brought leftover Five Cheese Meatball Bake (but without the meatballs). I matched Italian for Italian, and honestly, it helped my craving the garlic that I could smell from the big lunch. It was fabulous! Try and match meals if you can. That way you're still partaking... kind of. ;)

So, I have total permission to share this from my friend. I have a friend, who was actually a large help in me deciding to have my surgery. She had RNY in 2015, and she did really well with it at first. She got pregnant with her son, and like sometimes can happen, she hit a hard spot in her lifestyle. But! I've been talking to her throughout my journey about getting back on track, and she is! She is totally getting back on track with the bariatric lifestyle. I am SOOOO proud of her. If you're a Facebook person, go check out HER weight loss journey Here.

So, tomorrow, I'm going to my in-laws (about 3 hours from here) for their family Christmas party. I haven't been in several years, but it's a BIG party. My mother-in-law is one of 6, and my husband is one of... 12? 14? first cousins? And now, most of them are married, and bringing their spouses, and their kids, and yeah. BIG party. Since my mother-in-law is doing a Taco Bar for the meal, I'm going to make my shredded taco chicken again... minus the queso this time, because I don't know if she has queso... or if she does if it will meet the diet needs. We'll see though. :)

Sunday, I'm driving home with the little one. My husband will still be here in town, since he has to work tomorrow and Christmas Eve. So, once we get home, she'll get to open up her Christmas Eve present (jammies and a book), and we'll read that book before bedtime tomorrow night. We'll put out cookies and milk for Santa, and then she'll go to bed. As soon as daddy comes home, he and I get to start building the toy box that we bought for the little one. Who knows what Santa might fill it with?! :)

What are your plans for this Christmas?

~♥~
Lady D

Clothes... and the difficulties of...

So... I knew that clothes were going to be a challenge post-op. My mother-in-law took me to Kohl's before the cruise, and we found some really cute items... I put one of the tops on this morning and I was swimming in it. It was a 1X. *sigh* So, I had decided that the top I was wearing yesterday (3X) finally needed retired. The one I'm wearing right now (2X)

Also needs retired. It has a twin in teal. That's going to be retired as well. Why you ask? That top is loose, yes, but not that bad. Well... here is the cami I have on under it. If you don't want to see a fat chick with loose skin, you're totally on the wrong blog, btw. xD

I've lost enough weight that the 2x's are WAY too big for me now. I'm only down to a couple of tops that I can wear to work. Since my wonderful husband has agreed to run to Goodwill yesterday to try and find me some work tops... and pants. I'm in 18's now, but not for long... I don't have any 18 jeans... or 16 Dress Slacks either for that matter.

And I REALLY need new bras. I've lost a band size, but I just measured for fit today, and I'm still the same cup size. *sigh* If I don't start losing my boobs, I'm going to have to have a breast reduction. No seriously. DDD is WAY too big for what my target goal is... And actually, when I measured myself for fit today, I measured at a G, which I don't believe. *sigh* So, I need to go to Wal-mart or Meijer soon and see about Bras.

Or... apparently (I was curious and just looked), I can fit into Victoria's Secret bras now... O.O When did that happen??? I'm almost into their panties too... (size 16) That's weird to think about.... I've always hated VS since they don't sell plus sizes... or at least very large plus sizes... but now... I theoretically could shop from them... And... I just did... they have a decent sale on their bras, and if you spend $75, you get $20 back, which means if their sale is still going on, I'll get a bra for $5. Yes please!

I'm sure I'll blog again before, but just in case, anyone who celebrates, have a Merry Christmas!!! :D I hope Santa brings you all you asked for. He did me, and it's not even Christmas yet! :D

~♥~
Lady D

Inspiration

Inspiration can come in the most unlikely of places... for example, yesterday, my surgeon's office was doing live Facebook videos, and they were doing their version of the 12 Days of Christmas... but it was the 12 Hours of Christmas. And it was: In the 12 Hours of Christmas, my Dietitian gave to me...

It was really cute, and frankly had a lot of good information in it... for example, did you know that if you take your iron and calcium at the same time that your body will absorb the calcium instead of the iron, because calcium is a bigger molecule? I certainly did not. I knew that you couldn't take them both at the same time, because they absorbed in the same spot... the duodenum, which is now bypassed in my body. But I didn't know about the molecule size. Very cool!

So, the inspiration I mentioned in the title of this post came from one of their videos yesterday. In the 7th hour of Christmas, my dietitian gave to me, 7 days of exercise/activity. Today, when I was eating my lunch (leftover baked ricotta), I took a bite of the melty cheese, and didn't chew it enough... which means, OUCH, it got stuck in my belly. So, I had 20 mins. left in my lunch, and I decided to try and walk it off (which I managed to do). After I started feeling better though, I looked at my Fitbit dashboard, and realized that I had my steps set at 5,000/day, mainly because I work at a desk. I was meeting those steps every day. So, I'm challenging myself, and raising it to 7,000. After that, I'm going to move it up to 10,000 (which is the recommended number of steps per the American Heart Association, fyi. :) Or at least it used to be... now they're more concerned with the number of minutes you get... ). Here's some tips and suggestions from the AHA on Walking. :) And in the healthcare field... especially in a Heart Surgeon's office (that's WAY simplified of the types of surgeons I actually work for... if you're curious, ask! :D) We're BIG fans of the AHA. :D

So, my inspiration is that I'm going to hit my 5 days/week of exercise, and I'm going to meet my steps daily. I even just started a challenge with my friends on Fitbit to make them get into it more too. :D

I also did 28 mins of yoga tonight... I'm going to be so sore tomorrow... I haven't done yoga since before Vivi was born. *Sigh*

How about you? Have you had any good inspiration as of late?

~♥~
Lady D

Shrink, Shrink, Shrink!

So, I just keep shrinking! :o I noticed yesterday that my size 20 pants were being super baggy, and no fun. So, last night, when I got home, I tried on my size 18 stack. With the exception of two pairs, which were too long anyways, they fit! So, I'm sitting here right now writing this wearing size 18 pants. Considering I started in size 26/28 pants, I'd say that's pretty dang good. :D

Also, I was going back through some of my old posts today, and I saw the one I posted about my BMI drop... well, since I was curious, I went and looked to see how I compared now, and OMG. I'm no longer "Morbidly Obese."

I'm sitting at a 39, so, I'm still at the high end of "Severely Obese," but the point is that I'm moving on down! :D BMI's are totally whack, btw. My husband is considered "obese." I've posted pictures of him before... he's not obese. Overweight maybe, but not obese. Then again, in order to be at a "healthy weight," for my height and age, I'm supposed to weigh like 135#. O.O I'm 5'8". If I weighed 135#, I'd look like a skeleton. So, don't put TOO much stock in your BMI. Just saying.

~♥~
Lady D

Five Cheese Meatball Bake

So, this recipe is an adaptation/combination of two of Eggface's recipes... Her Baked Ricotta recipe, and her Meatball Baked Ricotta Cups. I changed a few things up, so, I'll post my variation here, and while I do have a "before" picture, you'll have to check out this old post for an after... it looked about the same...

Five Cheese Meatball Bake

-1 large container of part-skim ricotta cheese
-1 small bag of low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
-About 5 tablespoons of grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
-1 jar Spaghetti Sauce (This time Around, I used Great Value Basil, Tomato, Garlic, Onion... or something like that... it was DELICIOUS!)
-About 1/2 bag of Frozen Turkey Meatballs
-6 Slices Provolone Cheese
-Salt
-Pepper
-Garlic
-Basil
-Oregano
-Italian Seasoning

-Dump the ricotta into a bowl, and add: salt, pepper, garlic, basil, oregano to taste. Add about 1/2 the bag of mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 your Parmesan/Romano cheese.
-Mix until all are combined.
-Spoon into a greased (I use EVOO Spray) 9x13 pan.
-Gently press the frozen meatballs into the layer of ricotta.
-Lay the six slices of provolone on top of the meatballs.
-Sprinkle about half of the remaining parmesan cheese over the provolone.
-Spoon 1/2-3/4 of the jarred sauce on top of the cheese (You want a decent layer, but not too thick... if you put too much on, it will get watery). Reserve the remaining sauce for the leftovers.
-Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella over the sauce.
-Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the mozzarella.
Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the top.
-Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
-Let stand about five minutes before serving.

So, since I'm still on pureed foods, I couldn't have the meatballs, so, I only did that on 1/2 the dish. It comes out gooey, and cheesy, and melty, and frankly, like lasagna without the noodles. Who needs those carbs anyways? :)

~♥~
Lady D

Torani SF Syrups

So, on the recommendation of Eggface, I purchased some SF Torani Syrup over the weekend... well, I've been meaning to purchase it for a while, but this is the first time I've found it in a store. Wal-Mart near me had: Hazlenut, Caramel, and Vanilla.

Anyone who knows me, knows that Pre-op, I had a serious Nutella addiction. I'm so sad that I had to give that up post-op. Well, when I saw that they had Hazlenut SF syrup (And when I say syrup, think of the syrups that Starbucks uses for flavoring coffee) I just had to get it! It is a little on the expensive side... a small bottle is $3.27 I think at Wal-mart. You can also get them on Amazon. But, they are TOTALLY worth it! I did some in my at-home protein shake (milk, vanilla protein powder, SF Chocolate syrup), AND in my RTD Premier Chocolate shake. I LOVED it both ways! It is fabulous to get that flavor I missed in my shake. They have all sorts of flavors, and I can't wait to try more! Plus, once I'm back on regular foods, I can't wait to start using them in recipes! Go. Get some. Try them! :D

~♥~
Lady D

Pureed Foods

So, I'm a total rebel, and for dinner last night, had my first "pureed stage" meal. Now, this does not mean that I put some food in a blender, and pureed it until it looks like baby food. Oh no. I got to eat a 2 oz. portion of refried beans, low-fat cheddar cheese, a small dollop of queso (Pace Queso Blanco in small amounts meets my diet plan's requirements), and some Taco Bell mild Taco Sauce (I LOVE that they sell it in bottles now!). It was heavenly. No, seriously. After two weeks of nothing but cream soup and Protein Mousse, eating something with substance was fantastic.

I'm still on 2 oz. portions, and will be for a while... in fact, I'm not sure when I get to move up, because I don't have my binder handy, but I know that it's not for a long time. I'm ok with this, because I'M NEVER HUNGRY. Seriously. I eat three meals a day because I know I'm supposed to, but, I'm never hungry. At all. So, that's a good thing I guess. :D

Tomorrow night for dinner, I think I'm going to make a ricotta bake, and hold back some of the sauce to make mine meatless. :D

~♥~
Lady D

XL? XL? WHAT?! :D

So, I talked about my super comfy pants the other day? Well, Sunday my mother-in-law brought me a bag of clothes that a co-worker could no longer wear. And that night, I was wearing my comfy pants around the house, but it's come to the point that I'm walking on the hems of them... which is when I start falling. Well, in the bag of clothes, there were two capri pairs of exercise pants. I grabbed one of the pairs, and put them on... THEY'RE XL PANTS! And they FIT ME! And they're NOT TOO TIGHT! I'll have to take a pic if I can. I couldn't believe it. I've been in XL shirts for a while now, but, my legs/hips have still been fairly large. Apparently not too large anymore. O.O

In other news, I've been a bad girl, and I weighed myself yesterday. But! Good news! The scale moved! :) I'm now sitting at 100# down since April!!!!!!!!! Can I please get a HELL YEAH?!?! For that?!?!?!

And to remind you what I looked like when I started this journey...

:D

So, how's your week starting off?

~♥~
Lady D

Thank you for my New Life, and my Tool

So, the number one thing they teach you when you start this journey is that the surgery is not an answer. It is a tool. A tool to help you on your journey. Today, I needed that tool. I really needed it.

So, last night, we were supposed to get snow. It apparently stalled out before it got to us, and was supposed to start at 9am. So, when it started flurrying, I decided to run out before it got too bad (we were only supposed to get an inch, but I don't like driving in snow, especially when I need new tires). Well, on my way home from the store, with my almost two year-old daughter in the back seat, I slid off the road. Now, before I continue with the rest of the story, neither she nor I are injured. Now, to continue... I almost hit a tree. And when I say ALMOST, I mean that the front of my car was less than two inches from hitting the tree. However, when I went off the road, I hit a large concrete... block? Boulder? Something. My wheel went over it, since it was almost level with the road, and I was stuck. My door wouldn't open more than an inch or two.

If this had happened BEFORE I started my journey, I would have been stuck in the car at this point. I drive a 2006 Nissan Altima. My front seats are SMALL. There is not much room in the front. Plus, I have a center console. A gear shift, and a compartment/arm rest. In order to get OUT of the car, I had to climb over said center console, and climb up out of the passenger side (the car was slightly at an angle). 97# lighter than I was when I started, yes, I was able to do it. If this had happened in April or before? Nope. I'd 100% have been stuck. So, here's my shoutout to my surgeon, and all the people at the office. You all made a scary situation LESS scary.

It's moments like that that really hit home that I'm doing the right thing.

So... my car? We'll see. No engine damage. I'm a little worried about the frame, and had to file an insurance claim, so, we'll see what happens. *sigh*

~♥~
Lady D

Things... and Stuff.

Well, I said that I wasn't losing pounds, but thought that I was losing inches, right? Well, it turns out that apparently I was right. I'm comfortably in a size 20 now. It's been two months since I dropped a pants size, so, that's pretty cool. Since I started this journey in a 26/28, being down to a 20 already makes me feel pretty good.

I have several pants in the top of my closet that are 18's, that I'll hopefully be in soon, and after that, my mother-in-law has lots of 16's and 14's for me that a friend gave her. So, I'm set for a little while on clothes. Plus, I tend to wear my clothes a long time, even after I probably shouldn't because they're too big and baggy. Kind of like how last night I was in the kitchen making spaghetti for my husband (Can it PLEASE be Dec. 22 so that I can have some spaghetti sauce yet???), and I was wearing my favorite pair of lounge pants... even when I was at my heaviest, they were loose-ish on me. You can just imagine how they look now... my husband and I could probably BOTH fit in them. Oh well. They're still comfy, and they're not falling off yet. I'll eventually get rid of them...

So, I have my first complaint/issue since surgery. It's nothing to do with my surgeon's office, but instead my body. So, post-op, they closed my incisions with Dermabond... or something like it. Super glue, basically. I have a minor adhesive allergy... that is to say if I have medical tape or a bandaid or something on for too long, I'll break out in a rash. I have never had Dermabond before, so, I didn't know how my body would react to it. So, I warned them of it, and it looked like everything would be fine... Well, about that.

So, in addition to working for a heart surgeon's office, I sometimes help out at a Plastic Surgeon's office. When I was there yesterday, I was showing my RN friend my belly button incision, which was hurting a bit. Well, the reason it was hurting a bit was because the incision has healed, but the Dermabond was still in my belly button, all gross and such. So, she helped me get it out. Now I have a slight rash around my belly button where the Dermabond had been sitting. It's itchy, and red, and slightly painful, and annoying. It's the only incision I've thus had issues with, but it probably doesn't help that as you know, overweight people have skin folds. I have one right at my belly button area, so, that area rubs a bit too. Of course. Good news is that it's not horrible. It's just a little irritated, so, I'm hoping it will go away soon. :)

I've been thinking about what I can do to exercise right now, since walking is out. I want to start getting back in the habit of taking walks with my daughter on weekend mornings, but, as a good example, tonight, after 1am, we're supposed to get snow, and it's not supposed to stop until 1pm tomorrow. Walking? Not so much. Playing in the snow with the little one? Absolutely! We're only supposed to get an inch, but she's never really seen/played in snow before. Last year, she was too little to figure it out. I can't wait to play in the snow with her this year... but I digress. I think I'm going to start doing yoga again.

Before I got pregnant with my daughter, I was doing yoga almost daily, and I really enjoyed it. It relaxed me, I got more flexible, and I was working out to boot. As I'm recovering from surgery, I'm getting more and more energy (I feel better today than I have in a LONG time), and I need to expend it. Exercise is a great way of doing it! I'm going to have to take it easy at first, since I'm still not 100% healed, but, doing something is better than nothing. :)

~♥~
Lady D

Shakes and Pounds

I am so tired of protein shakes. No, seriously. I need to get some SF Torani flavored syrup so that I can mix these puppies up. Right now I have: chocolate, vanilla, Chocolate PB. Tomorrow, husband is going to get me some of the Premier Salted Caramel to try. The Premier strawberries and cream is pretty good. But with the Torani syrups, I can add awesome flavors, like Raspberry, Cherry, Strawberry, Mint. And since I'm doing two of these puppies a day, I'll at least get some variety in my life. *sigh*

Well, I know in a previous post I mentioned briefly the Nectar shakes. Well, I'm finding that I'm not a huge fan. Of the ones I've tried so far: Twisted Cherry, Apple Ecstasy, Roadside Lemonade, Crystal Sky, Caribbean Cooler, I've only liked the Lemonade and the Crystal Sky. And that's only if I mix things with them. The Caribbean Cooler isn't bad, but it tastes SUPER watered down, and that was mixed in the normal 8 oz. water. The Apple Ecstasy tasted like... to be honest, I'm not sure. Not apple. LOL. I won't be going back to that one. Twisted Cherry isn't bad, but I mixed it with 20 oz. water like I have been mixing the others, and it was super watered-down tasting. I would recommend slowly adding more water to the flavor you want. Also, it has a funny aftertaste. I ended up mixing in a Meijer Lemonade "Crystal Light." The Roadside Lemonade and Crystal Sky aren't bad, as I said, I just have to have things mixed in with them. But, if you're having issues stomaching the milky protein shakes, these are a good substitute. Nectar also has a Wild Grape flavor I'd like to try, and a Dragon Fruit Fusion flavor I'd like to try. The other flavors they have I'm not interested in, but you might be. So check them out. :)

So, in other news, the doc said that the 12# is fine. I should not compare myself to others as we all lose weight at different levels, and as long as I'm following the program, it will happen. So, #PatienceIsAVirtue I guess. LOL. I'm going to stop weighing myself every day like I did pre-op. As I said, that was more to keep an eye on my water intake. Now I keep a super close eye on my water intake, because I don't want to end up in the hospital with an IV in my arm. No, seriously. So, I'm going to start weighing-in once a week, on Wednesdays. Why Wednesday? Well, I took the idea from Michelle Vicari, aka, Eggface. She weighs herself on the same day of the week she had surgery on. So, since I had my surgery on a Wednesday, that's when I'm going to weigh myself. So, I'm sitting at 267.4# as of this morning. I gained a pound back from what I had lost from surgery. Which is probably the stupid water weight crap. That's another reason that I'm going to only weigh myself once a week. I only want to see actual results. I'm not going to drive myself crazy over every little pound. So, yeah. There's that.

How's your week going so far?

~♥~
Lady D

Frustration is a thing

So, I sent an e-mail to my surgeon's office today. I'm so frustrated. I've lost 12# since surgery. And that was in the first few days. Since then? Nothing. Not. A. Single. Pound. I keep seeing people on my surgeon's office support group that have lost 40-50# already. My only thought is that I lost 85# pre-op. So, maybe my body is slightly more used to losing weight? I have no idea. I e-mailed them just to make sure that this is normal, and that they don't think something is wrong. I'm sure everything is fine, but, DAMMIT it's frustrating. Any other post-ops out there experience this?

So, it's now like... 25* outside. It's nasty. I hate winter. I can't take walks with my little one outdoors right now because it's too cold for her (she doesn't think so, but I do!). So instead, I'm sitting here under a blanket in my WAYYYY too big pajama pants, under a fuzzy blanket, watching Grey's reruns. Is it Spring yet?

Also, new theme... what do you think?

~♥~
Lady D

Pics of me throughout the years...

So, again, I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately. I'm sure I could go pull more pictures, but, Nah. Too much work. So, I've been heavy my whole life. Literally. I have photographic proof. I pulled all these pics from my Facebook profile.

Easter when I was about... 5?

Maybe when I was 6 or 7...

My family used to do Pre-Civil War Reenacting. This was maybe when I was 10? A bit older perhaps?

All of these three pictures were taken from my senior year in High School. The bar pic and the horse were both from TN, the other was one of my senior pictures.

My husband and I at our wedding... And I've been that size until I started my journey... You all have seen the progress since then.

~♥~
LadyD

PB2 and prepping

So, tonight, I made an awesome protein shake... I was running out of RTD ones, and I needed to have my second shake of the night. So, I improvised.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake

-1 scoop Premier Vanilla Protein Powder
-1 tbsp. PB2
-2-3 tbsp. SF chocolate syrup
-8 oz. 1% milk

Mix well. Serve cold, enjoy.

The shake is delicious. It comes out a little on the thick side... I'm assuming due to the PB2. It's fabulous though!

Tonight, I also came to the realization that I needed to do some prepping for this week. I made another batch of soup, so, meal prep, and then I prepped my vitamins for the week. I was afraid I'd forget them one morning, so, I put them in 2 oz. portion cups, and labeled them for the week. Then I put them in my lunch box.

I'm also going to make another of the Chocolate PB Protein shakes, just so I can grab it and go in the AM. :)

~♥~
Lady D

Broccoli Cheese Soup

So, tonight, I made Campbell's broccoli cheese soup for dinner. I doctored the hell out of it like I always do... I added the requisite 1 c. 1% milk, and then I added: 2 slices 2% American cheese, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and pepper. I heated it until it was smooth and yummy smelling on the stove, and then I strained out the big bits. It was surprisingly really good!

Also, check this out.

I met my protein goal!!!!! :) I'm still short on my liquids for the day, but there's still a few hours. :)

~♥~
Lady D

Graduating, the Itch, and a Milestone

So, today I got to graduate to the full-liquid stage. I actually cheated and did it for dinner last night because I could just not take another night of Jell-O. For my first full-liquid meal, I made my protein chocolate mousse, and thus, I'm having no issues, AND, I get 4g protein per 2 oz. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but honestly, it's not bad, considering other than that, I'm only getting my protein from my protein shakes.

I'm doing fairly well with getting my protein. Yesterday, I got 57g/60g. So, I'm ALMOST there. My fluids were not as awesome last night... only 39 oz. :( I'm having trouble getting my fluids. I'm able to take slightly larger sips now, but I can still definitely tell when I've taken too big of a sip. It's not that it hurts, but it's definitely uncomfortable. I did find an AWESOME new water flavoring, at Wal-Mart. They have Great Value "Crystal Light" in Blackberry Lemonade flavor. Someone from the surgery facebook group mentioned it, and it's amazing. I love it. Right now I'm sipping on a Crystal Sky nectar with a lemonade Meijer brand "Crystal Light" packet added, and a bottle of water with the Wal-Mart Blackberry Lemonade "Crystal Light." I'm working on it.

So... anyone looking for a Christmas gift idea for me??? I'd REALLY love a mini-muffin pan!!! ;) If you follow the Eggface Blog, she makes these great little "Egg Bites" as she calls them. They're basically mini crustless quiches. I need the mini-muffin pan to make those. I don't need it for a few weeks yet, but I need one. :D (And no, I'm not really asking anyone to buy me one, just more lamenting my lack of one)

I'm actually feeling really good today. I have decent energy, even after going over to the hospital and walking all over it with two of my PA's and my co-worker. I'm honestly saying it's from my vitamin I took this morning. At my post-op appointment the dietitian said that I could try taking one of my vitamins and see how I do even though they don't usually start people on them until they're two weeks out from surgery. I took one this morning, and first off, they taste awesome. Just like drinking a cup of orange pineapple juice... yummy. I've had no ill effects so far, so, I'm going to start taking them just a bit early I think. :)

I got to stop giving myself my Lovenox shots as of yesterday. Honestly, the shots themselves aren't too bad... the medicine burns a bit, but from the bruising, and how many you have to do, you kind of run out of where to give them to yourself... and then they start to hurt. :( So, no more Lovenox! Yay! :)

So... you know when you get a cut, and then as it starts to heal it starts to itch... and drive you crazy? Oh, I've got six decent sized cuts across my belly (see the picture of my incisions below... I forgot to post it before now... the pic was taken a day or two after surgery, and they are five of my six incisions. My sixth is in my belly button.) that are driving me CRAZY! I'll have to look in my binder and see what (if anything) I can put on them to help...

Oh... I forgot. Tuesday, I hit a weight loss milestone... and I'm almost passed it now, but I'll share anyways... so, Tuesday was 90# Down! The reason I say I'm almost passed that is I'm now 97# down... lol. But here are the 90# pics... :D

~♥~
Lady D