Food Before and After Photos

[Starwarsandcupcakes 2,070]

This lovely uhhh “warm salad” is just what I needed today.

Massaged kale and spinach in avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and Himalayan pink salt. Sautéed for about 30 seconds to a minute. Topped with pan seared, skin-on salmon and balsamic vinegar caramelized red onions.

Would’ve been about 415 calories and 35g Protein if I had finished it all but I’m saving the rest for Breakfast or lunch tomorrow. Definitely made my heart happy.

[Starwarsandcupcakes 2,070]

7 hours ago, slimbunny said:

How long did it take your stomach to be able to handle this? I just made one scrambled egg and even eating half of it feels like a task - struggling to get my Protein in unless I do shakes (which I am so tired of)

I couldn’t do whole scrambled eggs for a long time after my revision. They just didn’t sit well so I’d do either just egg whites (which I still do!) or plant based egg substitutes (if you can find “just” egg I recommend that one). I’m 14 months out from revision and I still don’t eat much of most things that are dense but give me Soup or salad and I’m good to go.

[Arabesque 7,414]

30 minutes ago, Starwarsandcupcakes said:

Massaged kale and spinach in avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and Himalayan pink salt. …

Love that you massaged the kale & spinach. Sounds so intimate. 😉

I’m a giant bowl of salad every day person too regardless the weather. chicken or prawns & never skimp on the dressing. Mmmm. Can’t wait for lunch.

I used to scramble 2 eggs & it would take me three days to eat them @slimbunny so like you. Could eat one egg by maintenance & still can’t eat 2 scrambled eggs almost 2 1/2 years out. I sometimes make a three egg omelette with various vegetables & eat half for lunch & the other half for dinner. It took me a while to meet my Protein goal every day but my surgeon was happy if I was close to hitting it. I found a good high protein yoghurt & yoghurt drink that helped ge close to goal so I didn’t have to have shakes (🤢).

[ms.sss 15,714]

11 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Love that you massaged the kale & spinach. Sounds so intimate. 😉

🤣😂🤣

[ms.sss 15,714]

Like what alot of folks have just been saying, I normally have at least one salad a day, cuz I'm a salad-lover.

Here is today's. Its actually hugely high in calories because I dumped about a cup of leftover Mapo Tofu (stir fried ground pork and tofu with a Sichuan sauce) on top, and a whole bunch of gorgonzola and cheddar (i'm a cheese lover too!)

A whopping 766 calories for the bowl contents shown. I KNOW i wont eat it all right now, but *may* finish it by the time the day is over.

Edited October 25, 2021 by ms.sss

[ms.sss 15,714]

19 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

A whopping 766 calories for the bowl contents shown. I KNOW i wont eat it all right now, but *may* finish it by the time the day is over.

UPDATE: the Mapo Tofu is NOT yum. After one bite I scooped it out of the bowl and dumped it. So updated calorie count is 476 cals. Actually I'm going to round up and log it as 500 cals to account for the bite I ate (yes, I'm THAT nit-picky).

Edited October 25, 2021 by ms.sss

[Starwarsandcupcakes 2,070]

I tried to eat more of my salmon today as I thought about it on the way home from the grocery (of which I forgot to buy more kale and spinach!) 😱

I didn’t make it too far. I ended up throwing the rest away as 2 meals is kind of my limit with leftovers…. Unless it’s Soup.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Starwarsandcupcakes

[Starwarsandcupcakes 2,070]

dinner tonight was homemade mandarin chicken and rice. Definitely picky eater approved in my house.

Came in at about 235 calories and 13g of Protein for what I ended up eating.

[GreenTealael 25,430]

Yay we are all on the salad train together!

[ms.sss 15,714]

...and the salad train keeps on going...

294 calories.

(romaine, cheddar, apples, pomelo (like a grapefruit), jalapeño, anchovies, turkey & vinaigrette & spices)

Am currently about 1/4 through it...

[ms.sss 15,714]

Quiche days are back. The one in the front is a ham, onion & cheese, and the one in the background is mushroom & cheese.

Had 1 serving of the mushroom one (i.e, 1/8th of one pie):199 calories....plus a 4 fl oz glass of red wine (+113 calories, not shown)

Edited October 26, 2021 by ms.sss

[Sophie7713 3,324]

On 10/24/2021 at 2:36 PM, slimbunny said:

How long did it take your stomach to be able to handle this? I just made one scrambled egg and even eating half of it feels like a task - struggling to get my Protein in unless I do shakes (which I am so tired of)

Slim Bunny it will get better! Keep the course. This is such a wonderful phase and opportunity to change the relationship with foods and portion discipline that got most of us in trouble previous to surgery. Here are some dishes I looked forward to mid-way during weight loss phase. i.e. Fresh homemade egg salad, soft fruits, bean dishes that satisfied. First it was a few bites, then ½ a cup graduating to ¾ cup to one cup. Now I am maintaining with approximately 1 ½ cups... Your tummy will gradually adjust, digest more effectively and tell you how much you need to sustain. Go with the flow in selecting healthy clean foods throughout the process AND your rewards will be spectacular!!! This I can promise... And, yes, the Protein Shake regime were like Redundant and Yuck - keeping bowels challenging BUT this too shall pass. You have so much to look forward, too!!!

[Arabesque 7,414]

Didn’t have salad for lunch yesterday. 😱 The shock! Bought some fresh salmon & decided to slice it up & have sashimi for lunch instead. Generally struggle with oily fish like salmon but dip it raw in soy sauce & it’s delicious. Was about 70g of salmon. Had to revert to using a fork though - the numb spots on my thumb made using chop sticks too challenging.

Then for a retro treat: apricot chicken . Hello 70s/80s. My fabulous butcher had apricot lovely legs & I just had to have them. Not as sticky & sweet as I remembered fortunately (remember cooking them in a tin of apricot nectar? ) & I heated some diced apricots as a quick salsa like sauce. Will add some fresh ginger to the apricots I think tonight for a bit of zing. Wish I had some fresh coriander but … Oh well next time.

Hey @Sophie7713, everything looks delicious but what’s the top white bean dish?

Edited October 27, 2021 by Arabesque

[JDLane 140]

Italian seasoned chicken with a balsamic sauce, roasted Brussel sprouts and potatoes. My meat is cut up toddler sized because I split my chicken with my son and it’s just easier to precut it all lol. I forgot how much I love brussel sprouts.

[ms.sss 15,714]

1 hour ago, JDLane said:

I love brussel sprouts.

OMG, i love brussel sprouts too! I didn't always, as a kid i used to sneak them into the garbage, LOL.

Your pic triggered a brussel sprout craving in me and naturally I had to cook up a batch! I like mine with bacon though ;).

Today's salad (with bonus brussel sprout and bacon pic in the pan cooking...): 485 calories. Am so excited to eat it while I watch a recorded episode of The Voice 😁😋