Let's Talk Leftovers

I really have not learned how to cook for my family post-op.  I still think "family of five" and cook accordingly.  Before surgery, I would cook more than five servings because my husband and I would definitely eat more than our share.  Now, I am thinking maybe "family of three" would suffice, as our 3 daughters eat like birds most of the time and my husband and I could easily split a serving.  We also need to utilize the leftovers.  This is what my refrigerator looks like on a regular basis:

(I was too lazy to actually take a picture and upload it, so I just found a pic with leftovers)

I cannot tell you how many times in the last 5 months I have thrown out spoiled food.  Shelly (AKA Eggface) is really good about this and has so many ideas for leftovers.  She calls it "repurposing".  

Here is one of her blog entries about it:  http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2009/07/repurposing.html.  What neat ideas!

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks, mostly due to the stall I am in...again.  It is totally my fault, though.  I am not exercising at all.  Every day I tell myself I am going to walk or watch a DVD or go to the gym (gasp!), but it doesn't happen.  I always find something else I would rather do.  I was never good at self discipline...ha!!  I am also not getting in hardly any water and I don't track my eating, so I have no idea if I all my protein in.  I doubt I am eating too many carbs, as I am pretty good at sticking to what is on my eating plan.  The doctor still hasn't cleared me for bread (including chips/crackers), pasta, tortillas, or rice.  My diet is mainly still cheese, yogurt, eggs, meat, fruit, veggies.  I have protein bars (usually only a half) with my coffee in the morning.  I do eat small snacks every few hours:  handful of almonds, a string cheese, a piece of turkey jerky, etc.  I am okay with my stalls, because I am absolutely thrilled about losing 90+ lbs. in 5 months!!  I just know I need to move, not to get the scale moving, but for my health.  I didn't have this surgery to still be "unhealthy".  I just wish I had some more motivation :)

Yummy breakfast!

I was in the mood to try something new this morning, so I searched the WLS blogs and cooking websites and decided to try Shelly's Ricottage Pancakes.

• 1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese (I used whole milk ricotta)
• 1/4 cup Cottage Cheese 
• 1 Egg
• 3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix 
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Pudding Mix, dry (I used vanilla)
• 1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Coconut, toasted

Mix all ingredients together.  Spray pan with non-stick spray. Cook on low till golden, flip, pat flat, cook till done. Nuke Shelly's Super Special Syrup (2 T. sugar free maple syrup with 1 teaspoon Torani syrup, I used caramel flavor) for 25 seconds so it drizzles well. Serve each pancake with a drizzle of warm syrup. Makes 4 small pancakes or 8 silver dollar size.  

I then sliced some bananas on top...YUM!!

I made about 6 pancakes with the batter and used almost half a banana.  They were very good, but by my calculations they were only 8 grams of protein for 1/3 a serving and around 7 grams of carbs.  Not the greatest in terms of what I need for breakfast, but more protein than my usual egg and very tasty :)  I probably will have some yogurt in a little bit to add more protein for the morning.

On another note...by husband is doing fantastic!  He simply amazes me.  He is not having any problems at all and is drinking all his liquids like a champ.  He came home on Thursday and has been following our doctor's protocol to a T.  He over did it a little on Saturday, attending a car wash fundraiser for the football team.  He decided to stay home from church on Sunday to rest, admitting to staying out in the sun too long.  He is back to work today, on a limited basis.  His football team has "hell week" starting today.  He is going, but assured me he would delegate and stay seated (ha ha ha!).  He goes back to teaching next week.

Also, I am officially out of my stall!!!  Since I last reported my stall two weeks ago (a 5 week stall...grrr!), I have lost 6 lbs!  It is so good to see the scale move every morning again, even if it is only a few ounces.  I also have been seeing people I haven't seen since the school year, as activities are starting and back-to-school is happening (High School starts next week, Middle School and Elementary start on the 15th).  I have had so many comments on my weight loss and it is sooo nice to hear!  The sleeve is working (and I am working hard, too)!  Feels good :)

Almost forgot!

Just weighed myself this morning!  I am down 60 lbs!!

I started my pre-op diet on May 3rd at 282 lbs.  Surgery was on May 16th and I was at 262 lbs.  I am now at 222 lbs. !!!  It seems unreal.  It hasn't even been six weeks since surgery.  I am still in the healing stages and getting used to eating regular food.  I am learning to love my sleeve more, even though I still throw up most days...like all over the parking lot at McD's yesterday.  I only had 1-2 ounces of a fruit and yogurt parfait (way more carbs than I usually eat, but after a long day at softball, that is where the family wanted to eat on the way home).  I then had a few sips of an iced latte (sugar free vanilla), and I guess I had too many sips.  It was very good, but when I got to the car, out it came, unexpectedly.  Weird. I am glad it happened there and not in the restaurant.  Eek!

OK, onward and downward :)  This is an exciting journey!!

Milestones!

What a crazy and busy week.  I meant to post a few times this week, but didn't have a chance to.  Life got in the way, life meaning a busy work week and kids, lol!  First milestone:  50 LBS lost!!  Woo hoo!

I think it is amazing to have lost so much in such a short time (20 lbs. two week pre-op and 30 lbs. since surgery).

I also meant to post on my one month surgiversary three days ago :)  I just now had my daughter take some pictures.  They aren't the best quality, but what do I expect from a 10 year old.  Here are the comparisons:

I also took my measurements, to compare.  I really do feel smaller and it shows by the numbers:

Even with all the positive numbers to show, I still cannot say I "love" my sleeve.  I really wish I did.  I am miserable a lot of the time.  Nothing tastes good to me and I haven't been able to get all my protein in at all, not one day.  I am dry heaving or throwing up every day, feeling nauseous a good deal of the time.  I am really hoping it changes soon and I am praying I will be able to tolerate something.  I am trying new things all the time, just to see what works.  Fruit seems to go down the best, but that doesn't give me the protein I need.  I start lots of things, but can never seem to finish them.  I am going to try new recipes for protein shakes this week and hopefully they will work.  I am staying hydrated , with G2/low calorie Gatorade working best. Water make me sick.  Weird, huh?  I will let you all know if something works.  I know it has only been one month, but I don't think this is normal.  I am hoping maybe I am still recovering and that my sleeve will eventually calm down and make me happy :)  In the meantime, I am still losing and haven't really stalled at all, but then again, I haven't really eaten that much in almost 5 weeks.

A scrambled egg never tasted so good!

Today was my one week post-op appointment with my surgeon and the "go ahead" to start the soft diet.  He said I am doing really well and losing weight at a good rate.  I feel fine, but am a little tired still.  They said to drink more and maybe add some iron to my vitamin regimen.  Here is the list of what I can have.  They said I cannot deviate from this list with any substitutions.

• any kind of cheese-plain cottage cheese, avoid cream cheese
• plain low fat yogurt-no fruit allowed
• scrambled eggs only
• baked or grilled fish, tuna/salmon with low fat mayo, no fried or breaded fish
• mashed potatoes
• cream of wheat
• vegetarian refried beans
• apple sauce

I need to eat 3-4 times a day and only two ounces at a time.  I need to take 50-60 grams of protein drink/day and drink fluids throughout the day.

I was so excited, that I came home and immediately scrambled up an egg and it tasted sooo good :).  I think I may have eaten it a little too fast, though.  I am feeling VERY tight right now and doubt I will eat anything else today.

Speaking of going too fast.  I was running late this morning and forgot to take my vitamins.  So I ran back inside and took them, and sipped water with my prilosec.  I think I might have gulped some.  Anyways, as I was backing out of our driveway I felt awful.  I stopped the car and got out fast enough to throw up all over my front lawn.  Out came my vitamins.  I cannot believe how fast that came on.  I need to slow it down and take my time...with everything.

I also went to the office today for a staff meeting.  My co-worker drove me there and back, but I don't want to take any more time off.  I was beat by 1:00 pm and am glad to be home resting.  I am glad I have a job that I can basically make my own hours and schedule to see clients when I need to.

So excited to eat this week!  I don't see the surgeon for another three weeks, so I will try these, one at a time each day to see if it settles and my new tummy likes them.  Yay!!

Dreaming of Food

This has been a hard week.  Not because of the surgery and the healing.  That has been super easy and fast.  I feel fine and barely remember I had surgery at all.  The hard part has been being on liquids.  Oh my... I am glad my surgeon did not require a liquid diet before surgery, because with a full-size tummy still there I would have been super hungry.  This week has been hard because of the head hunger and just wanting to "bite" something.

We have been super busy this weekend, as my daughter made the All-Star team for softball.  Actually every weekend until mid-July we are going to be busy.  Busy at the softball fields, where everyone is eating snack  bar food.  Hamburgers. Nachos. Pizza. Candy. Soda.  It is junk, and when I am actually putting solid food in my mouth, I am hoping that I will be glad that I am not eating it.  But this weekend, as I was sipping my liquids, I almost knocked out a few kids who were snacking on some cheesy nachos and a hot dog.

Today also just so happens to be one week since my surgery!!  This time last week I was getting ready to go to the hospital.  It seems like ages ago.  I have officially lost 14 lbs. since last Monday and 34 lbs. for the month of May.  Unbelievable!!!  I am so thrilled.  I see my surgeon tomorrow afternoon and will start the soft foods or "mushies" stage on Wednesday.  Hallelujah!!  I am so looking forward to that.  I am also in search of a protein drink that I actually like.  It is hard getting the protein in if I don't want to drink them.  I start them, but then don't finish them.  More samples to try today :)

Really helpful today

My mom is a godsend...and a really good cook.  She made me some chicken stock and it is really tasty.  This is the recipe she uses:

Ingredients

• 3 (5-pound) roasting chickens (actually, she uses 3 carcasses from the chickens you buy at Costco)
• 3 large yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
• 6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
• 4 stalks celery with leaves, cut into thirds
• 4 parsnips, unpeeled and cut in half, optional
• 20 sprigs fresh parsley
• 15 sprigs fresh thyme
• 20 sprigs fresh dill
• 1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in 1/2 crosswise
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

Directions

Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, and seasonings in a 16 to 20-quart stockpot. Add 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander and discard the solids. Chill the stock overnight. The next day, remove the surface fat. Use immediately or pack in containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

She also froze them for me using silicone ice cube trays (which measure exactly one ounce each), like these:

and individually froze them, using a Seal-a-Meal vacuum sealer.  She did this so they wouldn't stick and they would be exactly one ounce each.    I just defrost them in the microwave and enjoy!

So very helpful!  and Yummy :)