Big News

So my weigh in today was 241 lbs. I was 293 when I started my liquid diet so that is 52 lbs lost. 66 lbs lost since I started my journey last May. It has been over 10 years since I was at 241 lbs.  This is a huge accomplishment for me and I just feel good about myself.  

Today I decided to buy myself a pair of pants and this is exciting, I am down 4, yes 4, pant sizes!!!

Can I get a woot woot?

Walking and Eating and Feeling Alive

So I am definitely walking 2-3 times a day and getting 2-4 miles in per day, depending on the day. Walking is so much easier now and I enjoy it.  Time to get more aggressive with my exercising.  Maybe it's time to join a gym and hire a trainer to teach me what to do as far as working my arms, legs, abs.  This will all help with my weight loss.

Food?  What can I say about Food?  I still love it.  I am finding healthy ways to enjoy it and in much smaller amounts.

So I am down 49.5 lbs and feeling wonderful. This is about 1/3 of what I want to lose.  My clothes are huge on me and at some point I'm going to have to break down and buy some clothes.  I can see the changes in my face and my body and it makes me happy. 

Back on Track

So I am down another 7 lbs since my last post.  I have been having a hard time not cheating.  I have always been an emotional eater and have been under A LOT of stress so needless to say I haven't been so good.  I am definitely doing my walking and even gone into the gym and my apartment to walk.  

So I have to start packing up my house for my move (the cause of all my stress) and anyone that knows me knows how much I hate packing and moving.  I have to be out of the apartment by 2/28/15 so I really need to get this done.  UGH don't want to do it.

On the brighter side of things, I found another recipe that I tried ad it is amazing.  It's supposed to be an appetizer but since I don't eat much it works as a meal for me.  See recipe below.

Chicken & Zucchini Poppers (GF, DF)

Author: One Lovely Life

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground chicken breast
• 2c grated zucchini (leave peel on)
• 2-3 green onions, sliced
• 3-4 Tbsp cilantro, minced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¾ tsp cumin
• olive oil, for cooking (or coconut oil, avocado oil, or ghee)

Instructions

1. Toss chicken with zucchini, green onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper (and cumin, if using). Mixture will be quite wet.

To cook on the stovetop:

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Use a small scoop or a heaped tablespoon to scoop meatballs into the pan. Cook 8-10 at a time for about 5-6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook an additional 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown and the centers are cooked through.

To bake:

1. Drizzle a bit of olive or avocado oil onto a baking sheet. Scoop meatballs onto the greased pan. Drizzle a bit of additional oil over the meatballs. Bake at 400 degrees 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through. If desired, place under the broiler for an additional 2-3 minutes or until browned on top.

Serve with guacamole, salsa, or your favorite dip.

Disappointed in Myself

So I had my 8 week check up on Tuesday and only lost 10 lbs in the last 6 weeks.  Half of what I should of lost.  I am disappointed in myself and will make sure I do everything in my power to lose what I am supposed to.  It is so important to lose the majority of the weight in the first 6 months and since I waited so long to get off my butt and walk, I didn't lose what I should have.  Now that I am walking at work, I also want to start going to the gym and do more.  The more I exercise the more I will lose.

Finally Walking

So last week I finally started my walking. Every morning at 10 am my boss and I go for a walk and then at 2 pm Julie and I go for a walk. Those 2 walks are 2 of my 3 miles I am starting to do every day. We will start increasing the distance soon.

Feeling Good About Myself

So I can definitely feel the difference in my weight loss.  Although the numbers don't always make me happy, I can at least tell I am losing inches.  I am seeing the difference in my face as well as my body. My breast don't have a ledge to sit on any longer as that has gone down.   My pants and shirts are fitting very loose and my shirts appear to be longer. When walking I don't find myself breathing extremely heavy and I can run up the stairs with ease.  I am walking a mile twice a day at work and soon will start walking before and after work.  BABY STEPS!!!

Happy New Year

I had a very nice relaxing New Years Eve.  I behaved and ate very healthy and NO drinking.  Well I did pour myself a glass of Viniq to ring in the New Year, but it tasted very strong to me and I wasn't able to drink it.  I am down another 3½ pounds so a total of 21½ lbs since surgery...33½ lbs since starting the liquid diet presurgery.

I am able to eat most anything, but am staying away from bread/tortillas and sugar.  I am going to start adding benefiber or some other fiber to my diet as I am finding that I get constipated and that is no fun.  I need to add more fruit to my diet because I am mostly eating meat and veggies.  Although I had a wonderful breakfast yesterday that was very filling and perfect.  I had ½ a scrambled egg and a ¼ of a green apple (no skin).

I still have to be very careful of chewing my food thoroughly and not eating meat that is too dry and tough as this is hard for me to digest and the feeling is miserable.  I never did buy Papaya extract which is supposed to help you digest the food that gets stuck, but really hadn't needed to until the dry pork chops.

Been trying different recipes and my favorite so far is Un-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (recipe is below).

UN~STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

I saw this easy, healthy recipe and had to try it. I'm glad I did! I really liked it and I'm not a huge cabbage fan!

Cabbage is a superfood with lots of nutrients! Among many other health benefits, it is known for healing stomach ulcers and preventing cancer --especially colon cancer. It is a very alkaline forming food. Eat it often!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey ( I used Ground Turkey)
1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 1 tablespoon from a jar)
1 small cabbage, chopped
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, stirring, until ground beef is no longer pink and onion is tender.

Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.

Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.
 
Yield: Serves 6 to 8