voiceomt2002

Congratulations on perseverence paying off for you! You can get back on track now! Yay for you!

I haven't been able to get on the bike much, but I've been keeping up as best I can. Still haven't made that 30 minute mark yet, but I did manage 27 before I pooped out. LOL! I'll keep trying.

I've skipped the wild rice and substituted Cauli-rice with no loss in flavor, or done without it entirely. I've also changed out the corned beef for other sliced deli meats to create different flavors. With these little guys in the fridge, safely stowed in a storage container, I have no fear of the mid-afternoon or late night snack attack.

I've skipped the wild rice and substituted Cauli-rice with no loss in flavor, or done without it entirely. I've also changed out the corned beef for other sliced deli meats to create different flavors. With these little guys in the fridge, safely stowed in a storage container, I have no fear of the mid-afternoon or late night snack attack.

I knew it was coming. I knew I hadn’t lost any weight, or not nearly enough to be pleasing to myself. Sure enough, I’d lost a mere 5 pounds in the past six weeks. Despite the reassurances of the nurse taking my weight that almost everyone had the same difficulties due to the weather being so cold, I knew I could do better. My appetite had been on the increase, and consequently, my caloric intake on my FitDay.com report showed a gradual increase. So, I went in today for my visit, determined to have maybe a couple of cc’s just to nip that trend toward weight gain in the bud. Nope! Once these pounds come off, they are not going back on by golly! See ya! Buh-bye! I’d only lost 5 pounds, but about 4.9 of those pounds was pure fat! Now, that’s a reason to Celebrate. I might have lost more, but Dr. Baptista’s nifty machine said I had Water weight issues. Yes, I did, mostly in a swollen left ankle from doing too much this past weekend. Told ya it was a nifty machine. Finally, that incredibly handsome doctor with the soulful brown eyes and the talented hands (Get your minds out of the gutter! I’m talking about his surgical skills, thank you!) appeared. He seemed to agree that I needed a nudge toward the sweet spot. Thoughtful man that he is, he also remembered I’m needle phobic. He took the time to reassure me while swabbing my port area with alcohol. It was somewhat painful, but more weird than uncomfortable. I hate needles. I am a certified needle phobic with a tendency to faint when shown a hypodermic, much less have one coming at me. Sure, it stung. I expected that. I didn’t expect the second stab of pain when he found the port. I think he used a butterfly or something. My tits were in the way, and I have the good sense not to look down in case I do see a needle. (wry grin) Whew! No matter what, I was glad that part was over. Yes, I’d do it again, if necessary. I knew that immediately. It wasn’t THAT bad. He put some saline in. I was okay with it, and I could feel the change in pressure a bit. That was cool. Then doc had me drink some water and tell him when I felt “full” and when I felt the water go away. I never really felt full, and never really felt it go away. He said I needed more restriction. By the time I drank close to 16 oz of liquid, I had a whopping 4 cc’s in the band. Apparently, I needed more restriction than I’d guessed and that explained why I hadn’t lost. All my loss up to now had been low carb diet and habitual dieting, not a restriction. What a shame. I really thought I’d been close to my Sweet Spot. Oh, well. If millions of others can fiddle with their band until they find bliss, so can I. Well, I’m on liquids for the next couple of days. Fine by me. I’ll pop by Wal-Mart and get some more Meal Replacement shakes. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when I’m allowed solids again. I don't feel anything much when I drink a meal replacement shake, but I'm burping like an adolescent boy with a carbonated soda. :laugh:

I don't know about you, but Tomato Soup is one of my comfort foods. This recipe allows me to still have it and lose weight. I'm way too lazy to peel my own tomatoes, but it's nice to know I could. I'll also use my food processor. I know very few people besides Ina Garten who own and use a food mill. While I've not tried to do it yet, I may even attempt making this into a Cream of Tomato Soup by adding in a cup of cream just before serving.

She started out looking pretty good. I'm already likely to need plastic surgery as it is, and if I'm lucky I can persuade them to fix my boobs. One has been larger than the other all my adult life. Would I like a tit and butt lift as well? Oh, yeah! Am I likely to get them? No.

I talked to my nutritionist about beans, and while she was somewhat disapproving because of the higher carb count, she did reluctantly say a few beans during the mushie stage wasn't so bad a thing. Do you know the Depression-era recipe called Pot Liquor Stew?

A friend (Thanks, BG) just mentioned on her blog that Moment in time when she hit bottom and realized she needed weight loss surgery. I had that moment when I hit the rocks at the bottom of a very long fall off a cliff. Sure, there'd been times when I saw the jagged rocks below and tried to stop myself, but the slow-motion downward spiral was inexorable. I was going to spatter, I just didn't know when. The day finally came when I realized I'd begun to stick a finger down my throat at odd times, hoping to --I can't believe I'm saying this now-- make myself into a bulimic. Was that a sick plan, or what? You know you've hit bottom when you would prefer to have a life-threatening mental condition rather than live as you are now. I would throw up any time I could find time and privacy, just hoping I'd either lose weight or maybe at least get to need to do it. Maybe there should be a new mental illness with a long name that means, "being desperate enough to wish you had X, Y, or Z illness." When did you hit bottom?

Aw, c'mon BG! I can't be the only one with A Bottom Moment. Pweeeeeze? With Splenda on top? (grin)

I still want to be Barbie. The b*tch has everything, including the cool houses, cars, and a boyfriend she doesn't have to lay. (Yeah, I'm crude.)

One of my best bean soups is here: Fat Frog Diary: St Patrick's Day- Green Chili Stew I'll try to find you some more. I can't have too many bean recipes because they're higher in carbs. For me, well cut up meat easily passes the stoma. During my mushie phase I ate a lot of tuna, salmon, and canned chicken recipes. I did not have any trouble making a minimum of 50g of protein a day, and only drank the shakes during my liquid phase.

Have you ever bought one of those already seasoned and ready to roast birds from the grocery store? Or better yet, one of the already roasted birds? I highly recommend starting this three-part series that way, depending on your personal confidence levels. You absolutely could roast your own chicken, and for those willing to do so, please feel free. I did, but there's no shame in letting someone else do the work. For the purposes of this series, it doesn't matter how you ended up with a "frame" of a chicken, meat removed and leftovers stored for future consumption. We'll use that lovely meat tomorrow. Now, you could be wasteful and throw away that frame of bones, but you're foregoing a very tasty opportunity for two more meals from those bones and tattered remains. You see, those bones contain a very essential ingredient called collagen. It's a thickener for soups! You know it. You've seen that disgusting jelled substance on cooled plates just before you threw it out with the garbage. That was the collagen. You have on that counter the ability to make your own "Condensed Cream of" soups for your recipes. Incidentally, you eliminate quite a bit of the excess carbs, calories, preservatives and sodium. How do you know when you've cooked out all the collagen from the bones? They'll practically crumble when you try to break them. The fact that you can break a leg bone all by yourself is a clue you've gotten all the condensing collagen out. Remember, you can use the frame in place of the bony meat in the recipe. Here's the recipe: Tomorrow, I'll post the recipe for using that chicken meat. It's mushy enough for Chicken Salad! Remember! This is the basis for many recipes. Freeze it in about 10 ounce increments. You should end up with about 4 containers. Double the batch if you like, and add el cheapo chicken wings if you just need broth. See you tomorrow!

Hehehe! I adore you, BG. You keep me going. While I was okay with the liquids phase, admittedly by the end of the mushies phase I was ready to actually chew something with taste. LOL!

I know I'm warped. I make my living off being warped.

A friend (Thanks, BG) just mentioned on her blog that Moment in time when she hit bottom and realized she needed weight loss surgery. I had that moment when I hit the rocks at the bottom of a very long fall off a cliff. Sure, there'd been times when I saw the jagged rocks below and tried to stop myself, but the slow-motion downward spiral was inexorable. I was going to spatter, I just didn't know when. The day finally came when I realized I'd begun to stick a finger down my throat at odd times, hoping to --I can't believe I'm saying this now-- make myself into a bulimic. Was that a sick plan, or what? You know you've hit bottom when you would prefer to have a life-threatening mental condition rather than live as you are now. I would throw up any time I could find time and privacy, just hoping I'd either lose weight or maybe at least get to need to do it. Maybe there should be a new mental illness with a long name that means, "being desperate enough to wish you had X, Y, or Z illness." When did you hit bottom?

Doggone it, BG! Post a spew alert with your images! (wiping my monitor again) ROTFL! I have been feeling like a Shar Pei Puppy lately! I'm so stealing that picture. Lena

I have slightly less than 100 pounds left to lose. I don't feel necessarily thin yet, but I do feel healthier. There are a whole lot more possibilities when you feel healthier. I didn't realize I felt so very bad until today. Now I can bend over and tie my own shoes, cross my legs, put on my pants standing up and in a hurry, work out in the yard, and even walk over a mile to the store for a recipe ingredient. Suddenly, there are more possibilities. Now I see how weight loss could become permanent, because the doors fling open wide. I feel like Dorothy when she beheld Oz for the first time. Every week I find I'm doing something I couldn't do before, and I'm feeling so much better because I did do that thing, whatever it was. Then the next activity comes along, and because I gained that smidgeon of confidence from the previous activity, I go for the gusto once more. I'm still taken aback a bit at the way people treat me now that I'm out of the chrysalis. (Mixing my metaphors, aren't I?) I might have said, "I haven't changed," but I suppose I did. Wow. The fat, sluggish catapillar that did nothing but eat and get fatter has suddenly become a social butterfly. How profound. I have a new self image: a butterfly.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VkKtIXqSUF4/SZ2t_4akIZI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/aJKiJzuWZFU/s1600-h/Mustard+Crusted+Roast+Pork.jpg

Blood and Magic is the new one coming out next week. I also have two other books there already: Yule Fire and Blue Rose. Blue Rose is not what everyone thinks! I satired everything from Dante's Inferno to modern politics. (snicker, snicker)

Dante and I were invited to go to a musical at the theatre the other night. Since I've lost well over 40 pounds already, and can wear my pretty evening clothes again, I was thrilled...and nervous. I hadn't been in public much for the past several years, other than conventions where I was surrounded by other women similar to myself. Last time, I was nearly 300 pounds, brunette going gray, and in such poor health, I walked with a cane. The other night I stepped out as an overweight but healthy blonde wearing a cool outfit, makeup, and had the ability to not just walk unaided, but step lively. Imagine my surprise when, instead of being ignored or treated like an invalid, I was greeted and smiled at like a real person. Several folks complimented me on my clothes, hair, and jewelry. I was...suddenly human. Weird. Hadn't I always been?

I assume you did read the previous posts and you now have your cooked veggie collection in front of you. I happen to have 2 cups of cooked broccoli. I had two cups leftover from a previous meal, plus a bag in the freezer. I chose to use the leftovers. No matter what, you need two cups of the cooked veggie. I also thawed out my chicken broth I made the other day. I had measured out 10 oz in each container, so I have a little store-bought chicken broth leftover from a previous recipe to augment the homemade to make the necessary amount called for in the recipe. Next time, I'll know to freeze about 12 ounces, not 10. Okay, so I'm not perfect. LOL! Now I can just follow the recipe below: Before serving, I ladled 10 oz into a storage container and labeled it carefully. I stowed it in the freezer. The rest, I'll serve tonight with a sandwich on the side for Dante. I'll have a spinach salad. You might want to make up a Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe. It's the most used recipe in casseroles. It'll keep up to six months in the freezer, and it's a darn sight better than all those calories, carbs, sodium and preservatives in the cans of condensed cream of whatever soups you buy in the store. Tastier, too. Note: I highly recommend using cream or half-and-half for this recipe. Milk is just too weak. A pinch of salt also helps. Go ahead and put it in a mug. If you love it like I did, you'll slug it down. If you need a hand knowing what veggie and what seasoning, here's a link to my chart: http://s516.photobucket.com/albums/u323/voiceomt2002/Recipes/?action=view&current=CreamofVegetableSoup2.jpg The chart is also where I put the calories and carbs for each veggie soup. I'll post some more soups over the next few days for those who still need mushies.

I'll blog about this eventually, but I never knew being blonde could be this interesting!

So far we've played with the chicken. Now let's do the same with beef. However, this time we're going to play a trick on the grocery store. You see, all those times you bought beef stew meat, you've been getting the trimmings from the guys back in the back packaging up meat for sale. These trimmings are often the tough and full of gristle parts from other cuts. I call that stuff "butcher's garbage." It's not good for our delicate tummies. Incidentally, note the price per pound of that stew meat. Now look at the price per pound of chuck roast and other roasts. At my grocer, a chuck roast is cheaper! We're going to buy a whole chuck roast and partially freeze it until it's stiff, but not frozen solid. (If you have an electric knife, use it and save yourself some aggravation.) Now cut the roast into small cubes. Remember, it'll shrink a little, so you don't have to do toddler sized bits, just smaller chunks than "butcher's garbage." If you like your beef broth really rich, buy a couple of oxtails. Yeah, I know! Gross, right? Wait until you taste the broth. Oxtails can be had for a buck or two, and they can add flavor like you've never had to a broth. Try it! I always try to snatch a few up when they appear in the meat section and freeze those buggers until I need to make more broth, just because of their delicious flavor, not to mention the superiority of the collagen they bring to the broth. (You don't have to try to break those bones to see if it's done. Just drop them in the pot and cook the devil out of them, okay?) Now for the recipe: I'll be honest. I never bother to clarify the broth. Call me lazy. My DH doesn't notice or care. This is the basis for all my recipes calling for beef broth. This I store in the freezer in one cup increments. I had to make a batch of this while I was still on the liquid stage of my post-op. My mouth watered while I smelled this all day, simmering on my stovetop. When the time came to strain it, I snatched a mug full as my lunch, and I nearly fainted at the pure pleasure. It sure beat bouillion by a mile! Needless to say, I made another batch the next day just for the remainder of my liquid diets stage and turned my freckled nose at those icky bouillion cubes! LOL!