Phoenix79

Here are my fur babies! All rescues....Remington or "Remi" for short is a border collie/springer mix, a certified canine good citizen and such a sweet smart cookie! My three kitties are Artemis (with the 'stash), Xander (grey) and Tigger (orange). Tigger is my hunter (the youngest) and Xander and Artie are my cuddlers! I highly urge folks to look at rescues as a great option and add another furball to your family. If you've loved and lost, the best thing you can do is rescue another pet- it's what your previous pet would want..to give his/her happy home and love to another deserving pet! Trust me, your heart opens and fills again, but you always remember your previous pets too.

That is all.

A 1/3 cup of rosemary chicken salad (w/Greek yogurt & light mayo) with a few grape tomatoes.

Ooh...that's a food I haven't tried! Sounds yummy- recipes anyone?

Just watch the sodium on those buggers. Still loaded with salt and preservatives but if that's what you can eat right now, go for it. It's lots better than other stuff you can eat. As time goes on though, work on preparing the food yourself, tastes better and you can control what goes in it.

How far out from surgery are you? It's pretty easy to get dehydrated, especially early on, but I've seen folks on here seven, nine months out that had issues as well. I've never been dehydrated to the point I have needed an IV, but for your symptoms, I would suggest a trip to the ER for fluids. IV's aren't that bad, and you'll be feeling better soon. If you want to try something else, try G2 (low sugar Gatorade), Powerade zero to give you some electrolytes. I try to get a few bottles of that in a week just as a precaution.

Spaghetti squash is great and all, but still nothing you can twirl a fork around, around, and around. I found a tool on Pintrest that I can make a long noodle out of- using zucchini, carrots, or whatever else you want! They really do make long noodles and I sautéed them with a little bit of olive oil and some garlic powder. Added one box of "just sauce" turkey bolognese from Trader Joe's and dinner is done!

I went with my mom and sister to a musical tonight and the parking garage elevator was packed after the show. So I decided to take the stairs 6 flights up instead with my mom. Last year, before surgery, we did the same thing and she left me puffing on the stairs a full flight behind her. THIS time, I was a full flight ahead of her, with her puffing behind me. I tell ya, that felt awesome- even though she's 65 with arthritis cancer and Chrohn's disease and premature senility. Lol. (My mom wanted me to add this. ... She's still really fit for 65 though!

I find it's much easier to eat healthier in the summer when the weather is hot and sunny and you crave fresh, crunchy, cool produce, salads, fruit, etc. Today it's 55 degrees F outside, pouring down rain and blowing and my body is starting to crave casseroles, caramel, pumpkin bread and all types of baked goods. I'm combing Pintrest for healthy recipes, but mixed up in there is a whirling vortex of gooey delicious no no's. Any ideas for healthy recipes to stop fall food cravings?

These fall craving recipe ideas are all great! Keep ideas coming...something tells me I'll have to go grocery shopping again soon.

I was buying some dry sherry for cooking and I got carded in the checkout line! Yippee! I'm 34 and haven't been carded at the grocery in years. That's what losing 80 lbs since I started this weight loss journey will do!

Beach Lover is so right! It does get tons better- I had a few of those moments of "OMG what did I do?" and flipped out once because I couldn't eat a whole red bell pepper anymore. . Look at the recipes section and you'll find a whole world or tasty foods and work arounds of your fave foods. If you don't like to cook, still try, because there's nothing healthier than cooking yourself- you know all the ingredients that go in it and can sub healthy (Greek yogurt) for unhealthy (full fat sour cream), etc. Further down the road, IF you try mcDonalds again, your taste buds will probably say "yuck"! The fun is just getting started for you- weight loss and healthy body changes ahead...buckle up!

I just ordered from them a few pieces of clothing- they sell used clothing online that looks new, sometimes even is new with tags. They sell Plus, Women's, Juniors, girls and boys (sorry Men- nothing for you yet!). Not bad- I spent $45 for 2 skirts and Land's End winter sweater, and two tops from Dana Buchman. You can also sell your like new or new clothes back to them for some spending $$ on their site, or convert to cash. Worth a try- I've got lots of great size 26/28's to get rid of! Has anybody else tried this way of budget shopping for your shrinking self, and what did you think? Registering gets you 20% off your first order and $50 order gets you free shipping.

For the folks tracking carbs, do you count all carbs, or just the "net" carbs (subtracting fiber, etc)? What works for you?

I just had a turkey ranch club wrap for breakfast today, made with 1/2 a light Flatout (8 carbs, 4.5 G protein, 45 calories for 1/2 a Flatout). It was yummy, but didn't sit as well as some things- it was my first bread since surgery July 2nd. But the Flatouts are not a bad find!

Cool! I'm starting to think Amazon should start paying me a commission for all these orders! LOL.

Ooh- great idea! Or make cucumber salad with rice vinegar and stevia and instead if slices of cucumber, do the noodles!

You should try Healthwise Protein hot chocolate! Has 80 calories but 15g of protein in it. I make mine with nonfat milk so I boost the protein even more! It really makes a great nightcap, especially with a few pumps of sugar free creme de menthe syrup in it.

I'm almost 12 weeks out and try to shoot for 50 Carbs or less a day. My NUT didn't give me a number, she just said to choose lower carb stuff. I picked up my number from reading the forum a lot. I do stay away from bread right now, so most of the carbs comes from veggies, sauces (had broccoli beef last night) and fruit. I do not cope very well if I don't have fresh fruit so I have some every day- peaches, pears, apples, blueberries, etc. I also love Minute maid light strawberry lemonade (15 cal for 16 oz) and that has a few carbs too.

You're right, it is Parmesan! I use fresh Parmesan and grate it right from the block. I used a ribbon Microplane grater which is why it's so thin. There's nothing like fresh Parmesan!

Coconut red lentil curry, tandoori chicken with cucumber cilantro raita and mango chutney....yumm- lots of flavor! Love Trader Joe's mango chutney- only 7 carbs per Tbsp, versus most at 20g carbs per Tbsp!

You may want to watch the wording on those fruit bar boxes- "no sugar added" is not the same as "sugar free". I've looked at those before and I think it was over 18 carbs per bar! Look for the ones that say "sugar free" but still flip it over to look at the nutrition info to be sure. My favourites are the Outshine sugar free fruit bars- (tangerine, strawberry & raspberry) 25 calories and 6 carbs per bar- they taste heads and tails better than the Popsicle brand sugar free bars (15 calories and 4 carbs). For me, the trade off of 10 more calories and 2 more carbs is worth it. Enjoy! Another fave is Yasso Greek yogurt bars in coconut- 80 calories, 12 g carbs, 6 G protein.

That looks so yummy gamergirl!