A Very Bariatric Christmas

Christmas this year was pretty damned awesome. Also it was the first time my Christmas stocking wasn't FULL of chocolate and candy. And you know what? That was fine by me!

Aside from lots of lovely gifts from my friends and parents, I also got the best gift I could have ever imagined. I was getting out of the shower and looked at my nude body in the full length mirror. I then realized that, while I'm not happy with my body, I am no longer disgusted by it. I couldn't believe that I was looking at myself (and trust me, I'm still all lumpy and saggy and not at all good looking naked) and I wasn't cringing or thinking of how much I hated what I saw. I realized just how amazing our bodies really are. I weighed early this morning and found that I have lost 111 lbs!

And for tonight, I made a nice little Bariatric friendly dinner. It's a half of a chicken breast, rubbed with ranch dressing mix. Then wrapped with bacon and cheese and baked. Also made myself a small side of mushrooms sauteed in butter. Yep, I sure do suffer with my new diet. :)

One Oh Eight

Yup, I'm down 108 lbs now. Seems like I'm losing a steady 2 to 3 lbs a week. I admit, I was expecting the 5 to 10lb weeks to last longer. I'm slightly bummed that the weight loss has slowed a bit, but I still feel better every day and hopefully I'm looking better as well.

What is 100 lbs?

100lbs:

• 100 16oz bottles of soda
• 400 sticks of butter
• 3 large bags of dog food
• a 2 month old horse
• a Newfoundland
• a high fashion runway model (*cough* anorexic *cough*)
• 5 car tires
• the amount of weight I no longer carry around on my body!

Yup, I hit my first milestone. I am now part of the Century Club. So what does it feel like?

I can stand for a much longer period of time.
I can do an entire sink full of dishes and not have any back pain.
I can go up and down a flight of stairs (omfg!!!)
I can take my dogs for a 30 min walk.
The jeans I wore in my 98lb picture are already getting loose.

98 lbs gone and feelin' just fine!

I think all this post needs is a picture.

3 months!

I had my 3 month appointment today. Fairly good labs. I'm a little difficient in iron and calcium so I'm adding more supplements. Overall I feel great and I have lots a whopping 89 lbs! I fit into a size 26/28 which I haven't worn since 2007. I still don't SEE the weight loss, even though I can feel it and see it in my clothes. Everyone comments on how much slimmer I look. Oh well, I guess I'll see it eventually.

And no, no pictures yet. I want to take my pics at my 100lb weight loss. Only 11 more pounds to go!

Low Carb, High Flavor Enchilada Casserole

As a fatty, I love mexican food. I mean I really LOOOOOVE mexican food. So I HAD to find a DS friendly way to make my beloved enchilada casserole. And tonight I think I perfected it!! I don't really measure amounts when I cook so this is more of a tutorial than a recipe.

The Ingeredients:
-Your favorite meat (I use crock pot roasted pork shredded up; recipe coming soon!)
-Mexican style shredded cheese (or use colby jack like I did tonight since we're out of Mexican)
-Macayo's Enchilada Sauce (or sub your favorite red enchilada sauce)
-canned mild diced green chilis
-zucchini, sliced VERY thin (I use my mandoline)

The Assembly:
-Smear enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan to just coat it. This prevents zucchini from sticking.
-Place a layer of sliced zucchini down to cover the bottom.
-Layer on some meat, the more the merrier!
-Scoop ~1 small can of green chilis over the meat and spread out
-Add a nice layer of cheese... don't be stingy!
-Cover with encilada sauce
-Repeat zucchini/meat/chili/cheese/sauce layer as deep as your dish will take
-Bake at 425 for ~30 mins.
-THE CRUICAL STEP: you have have have have to let this sit to thicken. It will be very liquidy when it first comes out, but give it half an hour to sit and it sets up just like if you had used tortillas instead of zucchini

The result:
OM NOM NOM NOM!!!!!

Gotta love Fall!

We fired off our woodstove last night for the first time this season. I swear, there is NOTHING better than a cold evening curled up next to a blazing fire.

In another note, I'm down 72lbs as of last Tuesday. That is hard to believe. I'm damn close to losing my first 100lbs and I think I would be more excited if that seemed more real. Right now it seems more like a concept or a phrase someone says. It's hard to believe that I ACTUALLY will have lost that much. Even now it's hard to believe I've lost 2 large bags of dog food (I like to put my weight loss into real life conceptual comparisons). Granted the entire 72lb didn't happen after surgery (42 since surgery, 30 pre surgery) but still!

And I don't feel deprived at all. I eat eggs and bacon for breakfast if I feel like it. Or yogurt. Or some goat cheese with all-bran crackers. Lunches lately have been caprese-esque with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and a generous spoonful of pesto. Dinner: amazing roasted pork, sometimes plain and sometimes with a little enchilada sauce and cheese melted on top. This surgery ROCKS!