Phoenix79

I just found mine.... "Survival" by Muse (yay...love this band). Lyrics are awesome- I think I'll be singing it as they wheel me into the OR! What is your song or songs... Let's put together an awesome playlist of encouragement and hope! Survival by Muse Race, life’s a race And I am gonna win Yes, I am gonna win And I’ll light the fuse And I’ll never lose And I choose to survive Whatever it takes You won’t pull ahead I’ll keep up the pace And I’ll reveal my strength To the whole human race Yes I am prepared To stay alive And I won’t forgive, Vengeance is mine And I won’t give in Because I choose to thrive Yeah, I’m gonna win! [guitar solo] Race, it’s a race And I’m gonna win Yes, I’m gonna win And I will light the fuse I’ll never lose And I choose to survive Whatever it takes You won’t pull ahead 'Cause I’ll keep up the pace And I’ll reveal my strength To the whole human race Yes I'm gonna win [guitar solo] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Win! Win! Win! Win! Yes I’m gonna win!

Turkey sausage sounds good too, Kindle! I'll have to do the one pancake with sausage next time- Costco has a yummy chicken maple sausage that I love and is packed with protein. Can you see costco gets a lot of my money?

Hooray! I found this awesome brand at Costco, and I've heard that Target is carrying it in most stores too. Kodiak protein pancake and waffle mix- for those near or at maintaining their goal weight, or for when the craving for pancakes is there. . Very tasty, tender, soft pancakes with no, I repeat, no protein powder taste or "off" tastes. Just like normal pancakes, but with 14 G protein per 2 pancakes (1/2 cup prepared mix) and 5 g fiber. It can go up to 21g protein per serving if you prepare with nonfat milk and an egg. I did that and added vanilla extract and 2 stevia packets since I like my pancake batter on the sweeter side. So yummy! I can see me slathering one pancake up with peanut butter before my morning crew practice or run. I'm 1 year 3 months out within 10 lbs of goal and can eat 2 pancakes with sugar free syrup just fine. great for change from the protein usual every so often, kids and SO's will like them too!!

got this size 12 Jessica Simpson dress from Thredup.com. I don't normally do boat neck style and the dress seems a bit shorter than I normally wear. It was $20...what do you all think! Keep or send back?

I enrolled in a refresher learn to row class with the the Everett crew house! I rowed in early high school but haven't rowed since- my hips and weight got way to big for the shell. This was a goal of mine when I set my mind too having the sleeve and over a year later and 160lbs lost, I've actually achieved it! I looked at a picture of myself from 9th grade in a regatta and I'm thinner now than I was then. I can't wait for my first class on Monday and getting out on the water again! My hubby is doing it with me too. . Yes! Hooray for an active date day! Sweeps in a 8 then maybe skulling.

My husband (fiddleman) and I are also interested in a WA meet up- we both had the sleeve and my younger sister will be sleeved before the year is up. We all live north of Seattle in the Everett area- however, like CowgirlJane, we can travel to the locations she mentioned. Hope there is a concrete get together soon....would love to meet some of you!

creamy verde chicken Tastes sort of like pollo a la crema with a fraction of the calories and fat! 2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast ( store rotisserie is perfect for this) 3/4 to 1 cup nonfat sour cream 1 cup (about 1/2 a jar) salsa verde medium spice 1/2 cup sliced yellow onion 3 green scallions sliced 1 can sliced whole mushrooms (can use fresh- 1 cup sliced added when yellow onions are) Kosher salt Ground pepper Sliced avocado (optional- not counted in nutrition count). Cilantro to garnish Nice thing about this recipe is just dump stuff in to your taste! Just remember to measure if you put in extra or start with less. My fitness pal is good at calculating calories. Heat skillet over medium high heat and add 1/2 tbsp of olive oil. Add yellow onion (& mushrooms if using fresh) and sauté until very lightly browned on some edges & soft. You can use 1/2 cup Water instead to soften and heat (no extra fat). When onion softened through, add the green onion and stir until those are slightly wilted. Reduce heat to medium and added cubed chicken breast, sour cream and salsa verde. Stir to combine and heat through. Add mushrooms if using canned, dump whole can including liquid and stir to combine. If sauce is too thick, add 1/4 cup of water to thin. Season with salt and pepper to taste, spoon into bowls and top with sliced avocado and cilantro if desired. Makes about 2 cups....serves 2 pre sleeve, probably about 4 servings for sleeved folks. Per cup- 376 calories, 5 grams fat, 24.5 g carbs, 52.2 Grams protein!

My sister is interested in getting the sleeve and went to a seminar with me while pregnant with her first child. She asked the surgeon how soon after having a baby could you have the surgery? The surgeon said very soon after...it just depends if you are breast feeding or not. If you are, plan on weaning the baby first since the surgery and your lack of calorie intake will mess with your milk supply. Also think about making sure you have enough help after surgery- with more kids and a new baby, I'm sure you do a lot of lifting during the day. My surgeon's requirement was no lifting anything over 10 lbs for 6 weeks....so that can put a wrinkle in child care. Good luck to you! I had the surgery (sleeve) to get pregnant...no kids for us yet and now we have the green light to start trying! Lucky you to already have your kids!

This is a dip inspired by my favorite pizza at Pagliacci pizza in the Seattle area- I recently went back for a slice and realised what I really loved were the flavors of the toppings together, and I could make it at home as a dip! So here's my creation...you can use it as a veggie dip, a topping or filling for chicken or serve with plain pita chips if you are allowing more carbs/further along or have guests/party. 3 heads roasted garlic (yep- heads, not cloves) . Roast yourself with extras for other recipes or buy pre roasted in the supermarket deli section- usually by bulk olives/antipasti. 25-30 cloves should do it if you go that route. 10 ounce log goat cheese (costco great) 1 1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil 3/4 cup quartered or roughly chopped pitted kalamata olives 1 1/2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix goat cheese, olives, olive oil & roasted garlic (squeeze out garlic from cloves if you roasted them yourself) together in a medium bowl. Place in oven safe dish with lid or top with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and top with fresh chopped tomatoes. Enjoy the flavor explosion in your mouth! You can also serve this cold without baking, and it's almost as yummy. You can also tweak this by adding sautéed mushrooms, artichoke hearts, capers, leaks, etc- anything Mediterranean! I prefer the original combo- tangy, garlicky, cold, hot, crunch..all together. Yummy. Enjoy and let me know how it turns out for you! My Fitness pal is great for calorie breakdowns- depends on how many servings you want out of it.

One year out and doing great! I had surgery July 2nd 2013 at Swedish Hospital Seattle WA and my high weight before surgery was 330 lbs, size 26-28, 4x. I am now 173lbs, wear a size 12 in most stuff, large shirt, and have even lost a shoe size. I would like to lose 20 more lbs but I'm fine where I am if I don't lose another pound as well. I have no more sleep apnea, more high blood pressure and I can walk/run/row...do anything I want now! I have noticed folks do treat you differently when you're thinner...more friendly, chatty and more smiles. It's strange going into store with normal size clothing and browsing, all the while thinking they are going to find me out any minute and tell me the big girls store is down the block. Sometimes I feel I've always been this new size and shocked when I see the old me in pictures, and sometimes I feel large still, look in the mirror and I'm shocked. It's been a great journey and I'm so glad I did it!

I had surgery July 2, 2013 at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. I started this process at a high weight of 330lbs size 26-28, 4x women's. I am now 173 lbs and still losing, although more slowly for sure. I can now wear a size 12 and a size large shirt and dresses and I have such a fun time trying on and buying clothes now! Ann Taylor, banana Republic, The Limited etc- I now fit size 12 petite! I think I've developed a clothing addiction- good thing I swear by thrift stores! I'm running now, joining a rowing team and gardening up a storm. I get 1000-1200 calories per day and get 80 grams of Protein with that. My side by side before pic is from Feb. 2013 and the after pic is July 2, 2014- my 1st surgery anniversary. I'm still trying to lose about 20 more lbs, but even if I don't lose any more weight, I'm totally fine with that. .

I had surgery July 2, 2013, hw 330, as of today, 173! Staying active and enjoying life with my husband fiddleman- sleeved July 2, 2012. This pic is a side by side of me before and on my 1 year anniversary. Calories between 1000-1200 per day, Protein 80 grams or more. Exercise has most recently been lots of gardening, but I'm joining a rowing team soon!

Some fashion models actually do this- have heard of it before. I never did the extreme stuff and fad diets when I was obese. I was obese but knew better than to try that kind of stuff..could end you up in the ER or dead, even before being obese caught up with you health wise. Sleeve surgery is the 2nd best thing I ever did for myself- first was marrying my wonderful husband!

My husband has your mentality- he is very all or nothing, and follows a very steady routine. He is a frequent user here- his user name is fiddleman. He had surgery on July 2, 2012 and since then, has lost 180lbs, maintaining his current weight of 181 since Feb. 2013. Good luck!

To Celebrate 100lbs lost so far as of today! A wonderful gift from my very enthusiastic Mom.

It's such a great workout! I did 2-3 hours of work out in the garden (I lose track of time) pulling blackberries, digging new beds and transplanting trees. I'm sore in all the areas I want to work- my legs, core (obliques especially), and arms- triceps on fire! Another bonus- gardening helps you live a long life- did you know that an amazing percentage of those to live to over 100 have one thing in common? That's right- gardening! And some are still going at it. . This is my public service announcement for the benefits of gardening....that is all.

That's awesome- you must have a lot of space to have an allee of 12 Asian pears! Think of all that fruit in the fall! I'm adding a double rose arbor with seating and a dry creek bed this year (lots of exercise digging, toting river rock and gravel). I love gardening where I live in the Pacific Northwest because we can garden outside year round. The drawback is we don't get very hot, so I dream of growing sweet potato, melons, proper tomatoes, but it's not gonna happen around here. But then folks elsewhere want what we have- the grass is always greener on the other side.

Hi IzzyBelle! Welcome to the club! I'm 34, married (to Fiddleman- also on bariatric pal) and no kids either. I had the sleeve 07/02/13, high weight 330, surgery weight 289, current weight 202- goal weight 150-160 at 5'6". Ask any questions you want and I'd be happy to be your bariatric pal buddy!

Premier protein shakes, mini light baby bell cheese, Outshine sugar free Popsicles (so much better tasting than the others), salt and vinegar blue diamond almonds, berries, tzatziki sauce, fage 2% Greek yogurt, chicken tortilla soup (homemade), Costco rotisserie chicken, protein hot chocolate with sugar free mint syrup added. Tazo wild orange herbal tea.

I went on a water slide at the new aquatic center in my town (Snohomish, Wa)! I was nervous about going down- thinking I was going to get stuck, not enough water on the slide to get me down (still in my 330lb brain there). My sisters told me if I got stuck, they would get stuck- since they are both bigger than me now (also a first for me)- and they went first and did fine. My first ride on a water slide since I was about 13 and I hollered for joy all the way down- so fun and so fast! If anyone lives locally, come check it out! They have a lazy river, play area for toddlers, water slide, flow rider (indoor surfing), hot tub, plus a full competition pool for lap swims. It's awesome- I'll have to try Aqua Zumba soon too!

Huh! I'll have to check it out! I saw it advertised on Sci-fi channel and thought it looked interesting- glad to hear it's good. I love Lost Girl and Being Human on that channel as well!

All of these sound great, but each of those cream of...soups are chock full of sodium, and pile multiple cans in one recipe, you're going to be exceeding your daily sodium allotment by A LOT! I don't know how many of you cook, but try doing "creamy" soups homemade, using low sodium chicken or beef stock and various vegetables, meats and fruits. You can even make your own stock using a rotisserie chicken from Costco- save the meat for something else and use the carcass to make the stock. Cream can be added using Fage 2% greek yogurt (doesn't break when heated like the nonfat does), half and half, or heavy cream if you are extreme low carb. A 1/2 cup of heavy cream over a whole recipe goes a long, delicious way. Roast veggies in the oven- you could do a cream of cauliflower, butternut squash with roasted pear, parsnip, etc. Put the roasted veggies with chicken, veggie or beef stock, and purée with an immersion blender or in a blender (carefully). For those just out of surgery, I'm sure you need to take it easy, so if that's the case, or you just don't want to cook, just buy low sodium and try to limit your consumption per day. Enjoy your soups!!

A snack I love is salami chips with grainy mustard dip. You get a crunch like chips, but no carbs and a tad bit of protein. Great for game day! Just take thin sliced salami, bake in the oven until crisp and cool! U can find various recipes on Pinterest. We're also having pulled pork with chipotle aioli and pickled red cabbage cilantro slaw. Go Hawks!

Pulled pork with chipotle aioli and pickled red cabbage cilantro slaw! A recipe from a localrestaurant cookbook I just picked up.

It's been a few months since I posted a pic, so why not! I'm sooo close to Onederland, I can't wait to get there! But NSV'S by the boatload on the journey to getting there, so I can't complain about that a bit! My current in progress pic is from today- date night with my husband "fiddleman".