Starwarsandcupcakes

Turkey meat ball sub w/ basil oil

Bought a slow cooker and this is its first outing: beef cheeks. Two huge 400+g (almost a pound) each cheeks. Had to cut them into quarters after a couple of hours (and they were more tender) otherwise they still would’ve been cooking today. 😉 Forgot the mushrooms so added them a couple of hours in. Supposed to blend the stock & vegetables & simmer to reduce for a gravy but I couldn’t be bothered last night when it was ready. I’ll freeze several portions for future meals.

Happy (21st) Birthday @Arabesque 😍

Birthday cake! I only eat cake 2-3 times a year now so this one was special.

The first time I noticed mine I actually made an appointment with my doctor because I felt a “lump” that hadn’t been there before. 🤦‍♀️ I hadn’t ever had a protruding collarbone so I had NO clue.

This is going to be long so bear with me.
First, let’s do the numbers.
Your starting weight post clean out was 251. Your weight now on that same-ish scale is 215, that’s a 36lb loss.
With ESG the average weight loss is about 10-20% of total body weight at a year meaning at 251lbs your average for 10-20% would be 25.1-50.2. Your actual weight loss is 36 for 14.34%.
With ESG the total percentage of total body weight loss at 5 years from one study of 203 patients is only about 14.5% if follow up with providers is recurring most saw their biggest amount lost at 2 years post ESG.
It seems that you’re on track for what that study suggests. I wouldn’t sweat it too much.
Secondly, however I do want to offer some suggestions for food. Focusing on high volume, low calorie foods can offer bulk because you’ll have more to chew. For example- A 100g of cucumber is only 15 calories while 100g of cooked Pasta is 160. If you miss pasta try tofu Shirataki noodles- an entire 8oz package is about 20 calories depending on brand. These can sit a bit heavy though depending on the person.
Salads full of leafy greens, fruits and vegetables with minimal dressing can help you feel full. They also provide crunch which I myself enjoy.
Season your food!- bland food can be boring and unfulfilling and loads of “diet” food recipes lack flavor. Adding spices can help make things you’re eating more enjoyable and trick your brain into being satisfied quicker.
Try roasted chickpeas- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed then tossed with garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and chili powder (if you tolerate spicy) with a tsp of olive oil then baked at 350°F for about 25 minutes makes a great topping for salads while providing Protein and Fiber, both of which help keep you full.
Lastly, make sure you’re following your clinic’s guidelines for liquids before and after meals. Drinking too soon after eating can make you feel hungry sooner and sabotage your hard work. If you can’t bear the thought of giving up liquids with all your meals try soup! broth based Soups are a great way to get in fluids, vegetables, protein, and flavor.

Trying again to show pics.

Breakfast- 1/4 c. chocolate pb fit with 1c. oats with 2tbsp cocoa powder made with Water
snack- 1/2c. cottage cheese, 3/4 frozen blueberries, and a toasted plain mini bagel
snack- raita (1/3c nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1/2c. Diced cucumber with a pinch of salt and garam masala and a smidge of lemon juice
dinner- curry seasoned veggies (zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and garlic) with chicken coconut curry (found in the deli section)
Also, bonus calorie count for today as I doubt I’ll eat anything else today.

Meals from the last few days-
those cheesy stuffing waffles with over easy eggs and griddled tomatoes (clearly didn’t eat it all)
cottage cheese mixed with cooked onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms then microwaved with marinara and turkey pepperoni (this I will definitely eat again)
lemon poppyseed bread with ricotta, sliced apple, and honey (ate about 3/4 the bread and ricotta)
polenta with French onion roasted green Beans (a kit from the produce section) and shrimp, onions and tomatoes in veggie broth (the kids had theirs mixed with rice)
spicy Thai chili tuna mixed with nonfat yogurt, more reduced sugar Thai chili sauce, and shredded lettuce. Only ate 10 of the Thai chili rice crisps
cottage cheese plate with an everything bagel, strawberries, mini bell peppers, Tomato slices, and lettuce (ate half the bagel, most of the cottage cheese and peppers and about half everything else)

Made the fam Çilbir which is a turkish egg dish with a tangy and garlicky greek yogurt base, topped with poached eggs and drizzled with a hot spicy olive oil and butter mix. I love this dish but didn’t have any. I might have some for dinner. With a side of toasted sourdough.

dinner tonight:
Smash burger tacos Big Mac style. Lean ground beef on a mini mission low carb tortilla (my hand for reference), melted cheddar cheese (real cheddar not the plastic one), sliced dill pickles, jalapeños and gem lettuce drizzled with a little homemade big mac sauce. This meal is one of my favourites. See how I did below.
My motto is when you’re full, you don’t need to eat the last bite, so I left the last bite sitting there. 1 hour later I had one bite of the homemade roasted potato wedges and 3 broccoli florets.

Meals from the last few days-
those cheesy stuffing waffles with over easy eggs and griddled tomatoes (clearly didn’t eat it all)
cottage cheese mixed with cooked onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms then microwaved with marinara and turkey pepperoni (this I will definitely eat again)
lemon poppyseed bread with ricotta, sliced apple, and honey (ate about 3/4 the bread and ricotta)
polenta with French onion roasted green Beans (a kit from the produce section) and shrimp, onions and tomatoes in veggie broth (the kids had theirs mixed with rice)
spicy Thai chili tuna mixed with nonfat yogurt, more reduced sugar Thai chili sauce, and shredded lettuce. Only ate 10 of the Thai chili rice crisps
cottage cheese plate with an everything bagel, strawberries, mini bell peppers, Tomato slices, and lettuce (ate half the bagel, most of the cottage cheese and peppers and about half everything else)

Dinner:
Homemade steaks!! I am so proud of how these turned out. Super juicy, super yummy and the homemade Chimichurri was out of this world good. I ate around 3 strips and couldn’t fit anything else, the meat was too filling.

Breakfast- 1/4 c. chocolate pb fit with 1c. oats with 2tbsp cocoa powder made with Water
snack- 1/2c. cottage cheese, 3/4 frozen blueberries, and a toasted plain mini bagel
snack- raita (1/3c nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1/2c. Diced cucumber with a pinch of salt and garam masala and a smidge of lemon juice
dinner- curry seasoned veggies (zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and garlic) with chicken coconut curry (found in the deli section)
Also, bonus calorie count for today as I doubt I’ll eat anything else today.

Breakfast- 1/4 c. chocolate pb fit with 1c. oats with 2tbsp cocoa powder made with Water
snack- 1/2c. cottage cheese, 3/4 frozen blueberries, and a toasted plain mini bagel
snack- raita (1/3c nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1/2c. Diced cucumber with a pinch of salt and garam masala and a smidge of lemon juice
dinner- curry seasoned veggies (zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and garlic) with chicken coconut curry (found in the deli section)
Also, bonus calorie count for today as I doubt I’ll eat anything else today.

Breakfast- 1/4 c. chocolate pb fit with 1c. oats with 2tbsp cocoa powder made with Water
snack- 1/2c. cottage cheese, 3/4 frozen blueberries, and a toasted plain mini bagel
snack- raita (1/3c nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1/2c. Diced cucumber with a pinch of salt and garam masala and a smidge of lemon juice
dinner- curry seasoned veggies (zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and garlic) with chicken coconut curry (found in the deli section)
Also, bonus calorie count for today as I doubt I’ll eat anything else today.

Mashed potatoes and pepper salmon
I was super busy all day and didn’t get to eat until 6pm plusI had to cook (at least the food was good)

They look like red globe grapes to me but I could be wrong. Fun fact- Japan has a grape variety that grows to almost the size of your palm! More about Japanese grapes here!

Meals from the last few days-
those cheesy stuffing waffles with over easy eggs and griddled tomatoes (clearly didn’t eat it all)
cottage cheese mixed with cooked onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms then microwaved with marinara and turkey pepperoni (this I will definitely eat again)
lemon poppyseed bread with ricotta, sliced apple, and honey (ate about 3/4 the bread and ricotta)
polenta with French onion roasted green Beans (a kit from the produce section) and shrimp, onions and tomatoes in veggie broth (the kids had theirs mixed with rice)
spicy Thai chili tuna mixed with nonfat yogurt, more reduced sugar Thai chili sauce, and shredded lettuce. Only ate 10 of the Thai chili rice crisps
cottage cheese plate with an everything bagel, strawberries, mini bell peppers, Tomato slices, and lettuce (ate half the bagel, most of the cottage cheese and peppers and about half everything else)

Meals from the last few days-
those cheesy stuffing waffles with over easy eggs and griddled tomatoes (clearly didn’t eat it all)
cottage cheese mixed with cooked onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms then microwaved with marinara and turkey pepperoni (this I will definitely eat again)
lemon poppyseed bread with ricotta, sliced apple, and honey (ate about 3/4 the bread and ricotta)
polenta with French onion roasted green Beans (a kit from the produce section) and shrimp, onions and tomatoes in veggie broth (the kids had theirs mixed with rice)
spicy Thai chili tuna mixed with nonfat yogurt, more reduced sugar Thai chili sauce, and shredded lettuce. Only ate 10 of the Thai chili rice crisps
cottage cheese plate with an everything bagel, strawberries, mini bell peppers, Tomato slices, and lettuce (ate half the bagel, most of the cottage cheese and peppers and about half everything else)

Meals from the last few days-
those cheesy stuffing waffles with over easy eggs and griddled tomatoes (clearly didn’t eat it all)
cottage cheese mixed with cooked onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms then microwaved with marinara and turkey pepperoni (this I will definitely eat again)
lemon poppyseed bread with ricotta, sliced apple, and honey (ate about 3/4 the bread and ricotta)
polenta with French onion roasted green Beans (a kit from the produce section) and shrimp, onions and tomatoes in veggie broth (the kids had theirs mixed with rice)
spicy Thai chili tuna mixed with nonfat yogurt, more reduced sugar Thai chili sauce, and shredded lettuce. Only ate 10 of the Thai chili rice crisps
cottage cheese plate with an everything bagel, strawberries, mini bell peppers, Tomato slices, and lettuce (ate half the bagel, most of the cottage cheese and peppers and about half everything else)

White fish Ceviche and Mexican street corn salad (made with a greek yogurt dressing). Below is what I plated for myself but decided to go for seconds for the ceviche and only had one bite of the corn salad (which was really good).

Ay there’s the rub
I currently hate cooking 😝

Dinner:
Spiced chickpea rice with caramelized onions, baby carrots and roasted corn. Cinnamon broth baked chicken and a side of tzatziki. I ate one thigh, 2 chickpeas and 2 baby carrots.

cheesy waffle (not for me) & burger w/ fries (split between 2 people)
I liked the idea of the cheesy waffle but then I made it and decided it was not for me.