Weird Goals!

Hiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!

How was your Tuesday? Mine was typical...Nothing too horrific. Pretty normal day. Work, gym, home, dinner, and now some time to chill out before I study. Anyone else as excited as I am for the new Snooki and Jwoww season tonight?? I know, I'm weird. Moving on...

Breakfast

Breakfast was some left over bacon from Sunday morning. This was quite the gem when I opened the fridge and remembered it was in there. It reheated very well! Who doesn't love bacon?? I had a few people come in my "office" and ask what I was cooking....I guess the smell was a tease..Sorry guys! 

Lunch

I'm not going to post a picture of lunch. I had more leftovers from dinner Sunday night...In other words, more Russian Chicken and spaghetti squash. Womp Womp! There was SO much! 

Weird Goals???

What exactly do I mean by that??? Well... I have a very weird, and somewhat embarrassing, goal that I would like to reach during one of my work outs someday..

I would like to make my arms and shoulders sweat. WEIRD! I warned ya! 

This all stems from when I was living in a dorm for like 5 minutes (Sorry, Ness)! 

My roommate, and best friend since 6th grade, was a beast when she worked out. She and I would go down in to the basement gym to work out. She would jump on the elliptical or treadmill and just go! I noticed that she would literally have sweat pouring down her arms and at some point I made this my idea of a kick a** work out! Someday, Stac, someday....

We were awesome.

 I always wondered why naturally thin people worked out. I never (until now) put two and two  together to make myself realize that they work out to STAY healthy and fit! Such an odd realization, but it's true. I always wondered why they wouldn't enjoy just having the body they do. Guess what?? If naturally thin people don't work out, their bodies won't be as healthy either! Shocking! I know! So all my fellow chubbie ladies, you can quit hating on your naturally skinny best friend just because she hits up the gym when you would kill to just not have to. :)

So I took my chubbie lady self over to the gym after work for some cardio and lifting. I was supposed to take a class tonight, but wasn't feeling very social. Just wanted to do my own thing. I got in about 40 minutes on the elliptical (no shoulder sweat yet) and about 20 minutes of upper body. I am sore, but I love this kind of sore!

Dinner

 After my work out, I cooked up a DELICIOUS dinner! Breaded and baked chicken tenders, cauliflower "mac" n' cheese, and steamed green beans. I loved this meal. Turns out perfect every time.

The key to keeping baked chicken juicy and tender is vinegar. WHATTTT?? I learned this from a show I watched forever ago. When breading your chicken, put a TBS of vinegar in your egg/milk combo. The vinegar will break down the chicken a bit and it will turn out perfect every time! You won't taste it either! I bread my chicken with Special K protein cereal that I run through the food processor and season because it's lower in carbs and higher in protein than traditional bread crumbs. Makes for a nice crunch too!

I make my cauliflower and cheese just like I would make normal baked macaroni and cheese. Because I try and do low carb these days, I use mashed up cauliflower instead of noodles. Also quite yummy!

There you have it! Another day in my post-op life! :)

Have a great night!!!

Go Away, Monday!

I have such a case of the Mondays today...Sigh...

Monday is my long day at school, so my entire day is just spent dreading the fact that I cannot head home directly after work. I'm a bit of a home body these days (what else can you do when studying has become a serious, daily event??)...

My weekend was fabulous, but Friday night was a bit of a carb overload, so today I was looking forward to eating some protein and getting back to my normal routine.

Breakfast

This morning started out with 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese and a few chunks of fresh pineapple. SO GOOD! 

I'v found that I am absolutely starving about half way through my morning if I eat a high carb breakfast, such as a bagel. A few hours later, I am ravenous and will grab the first thing within my sight--which is horrible because my current "office" is in the break room of a doctors office, so there is ALWAYS some kind of sweet treat hanging out with me all day. 

Lunch

Lunch today came in the form of some leftovers from dinner last night. Russian chicken and spaghetti squash. I am disgustingly obsessed with spaghetti squash. If you've never tried it, do! All you have to do is brush it with some olive oil, turn it upside down on a baking sheet, and roast it for about an hour at 350 or until it is fork tender. When its done, let it cool until you can hold it, then use a fork to scrape out your "noodles". I love it! Great, low carb substitute for noodles!

Snack

Another favorrrrittteee!!! So I can't stress enough how much I LOVE Aldi... If you know me well, you know I'm a serious bargain shopper, so Aldi has some awesome buys that I just can't get enough of! Happy Farms Colby Jack Snack Sticks would be one of them! 85 calories and 6 grams of protein, I  love munching on one of these mid-morning or on my way to school.

Dinner

Unfortunately, dinner didn't make it in to my pictures, but I had some chinese food. I can only eat a few bites of whatever we order, so I usually just eat some of whatever the mister gets and leave it at that. Tonight happened to be chicken lo mein. My gastric bypass pouch wasn't too fond of it, but it is what it is. I still need to get some more protein and calories in, so I am thinking a protein shake with a scoop of my Carb Smart ice cream in it later! Yummo! 

So there is s normal "eating" day for me. I didn't get a work out in tonight like I'd hoped to, but I am SO excited for Body Sculpting class tomorrow night at a gym located literally at the end of my apartment complex drive way! Here is a recycled pic of my oh-so-gorgeous (yeah, right!), sweaty self after taking this class then following it up with some cardio last week! Definitely a challenge and I felt it for (literally) days after, but I adored it and can't wait till tomorrow evening. :) 

Have an awesome night!

 

Unveiling The Truths of Gastric Bypass

Good Afternoon!
Happy Monday, All! I hope your day is going swimmingly! :)
I decided to write a post about my experiences (so far) after having gastric bypass. I feel like after a few months, I am able to share some things with people and have it be honest.
**Disclaimer**
The opinions I'm about to express are from MY personal experience and do not reflect everyone's own experience.
I've had SO many questions and comments over the past few months about my surgery. I find that most people are more curious than anything, but some choose to just be nosey (and sometimes plain rude). Well, I am going to share with you the good, the bad, and the ugly of going through such a major procedure because I feel like many people are very ignorant of what it actually is and why it is a necessity for some. If you're a squeamish person, this post also may not be for you!!

What is gastric bypass?
--Gastric bypass is a procedure which a surgeon forms the stomach into a small pouch (usually the size of an egg), then cuts about 1.5 feet of small intestine out and reattaches the rest of the intestine up to the pouch. The old stomach is left in the abdomen behind the new bypassed pouch, but does not function to absorb food anymore. This procedure leaves a person unable to eat more than 1/4-1 cup of food at any given time. It also keeps a person from absorbing as many nutrients and calories as a normal person for a period of about 2 years. After that period of time, the human body (being as amazing as it is) compensates and starts to absorb the calories and nutrients again at just about normal levels.
It is so important for those that have this procedure to learn a healthier lifestyle and maximize weight loss during the first two years, so weight loss can continue or be maintained once the body begins to absorb normally again.

Gastric Bypass Pros?!
It has been the best decision of my life. It still baffles my mind that I can eat a 2 oz grilled chicken breast and be absolutely stuffed! Not being able to overeat (and not being hungry) allows me to put in to practice everything I've always known about proper nutrition and portion control. With this knowledge comes some great changes in my health and body!



This is a pic I took the other day, sorry they're not the same view of my body. PRO-- down about 80lbs! I feel SO much healthier!

Now on to the cons of having this surgery... And there are many...

#1. I will be taking a million vitamins for the rest of my life.



And NO, I'm not pregnant!! Lol Pre-natal multivitamins are better for bariatric patients who need the extra folic acid. I take 2 of each of these meds twice daily. Sometimes they make me very very sick.

#2. Side Effects of Malnutrition.

No matter how many vitamins I take, I still only absorb about half of whatever I consume and that has some pretty traumatic side effects...



This is from brushing my hair after my shower. My hair is getting VERY thin. It falls out continuously.










Due to a lack of iron (anemia), I bruise like nobody's business. These marks on my legs are just from crossing them at work.



Maybe someday I'll get the courage to show this one, but I have a lot of loose skin. From bingo wings to a stomach apron... NOT. FUN.

So there is the good and bad. For those of you who are already skinny, just work at keeping it that way! Trying to lose weight is a horrible battle that so many people struggle with daily. For those losing weight or considering surgery, make sure you research research research before doing anything! I'm happy with my decision, but many aren't.

Good luck and here's to a healthy life! :)

Planning is Key!

As per my usual, I haven't even looked at my own site since March! Well, here we go again...

"A goal without a plan is just a wish." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

So, it's no secret that I have been losing weight over the past few months. For those of you who do not know, I DID have surgery. I had a revision from the Lap Band to Gastric Bypass on June 5th of this year. It has been quite a wild ride!

Contrary to popular belief (and for some this may be true), but it is SO not the easy way out! I always tell people, if I don't move, neither does my scale!! If I eat too many carbs, I do not lose weight. Weight loss, no matter how you do it, requires a plan and a lot of hard work. Every week, I plan out our household breakfasts, lunches, and dinners then shop accordingly. --BONUS--- This saves in grocery bills because you're more likely to stick with your list and not impulse buy!!

                                      

Here is a picture of this weeks latest shopping trip...

 

On the menu for this week...

Sunday: Italian Beef Sandwiches (Sans the bun for me!) and salads.

Monday: Subway night in our house--I have school till 9:30 PM, so this is always Subway night!

Tuesday: Low carb turkey and vegetable wraps with butternut squash soup on the side (I add some unflavored protein powder in all my soups). 

Wednesday: Russian Chicken (recipe at bottom of post) and spaghetti squash.

Thursday: Turkey meatloaf, mashed "potato" cauliflower, and corn.

Friday: Friday Fun Day!!--Pizza and some snacks. My twin and her hubs are spending the night, so this will be a bit of a "splurge" day for me.. Well, as much as my GBP pouch allows for a splurge! ha!

Saturday: Leftovers from the week. 

So there's our dinner eats for the week.. as you can see, I keep things as low carb as possible. Of course, we don't ALWAYS end up sticking to the schedule we have set, but it definitely helps with not having to think about what we are having for dinner that day. It also keeps me from making spur of the moment bad choices. 

                                                     The Dreaded Workout...

Just like I plan my meals, I plan my work outs too! If I didn't, I would find every excuse in the world to avoid them! lol I have them programmed in to my phone calendar, so my phone dings when it's time, making it harder for me to "forget" or just avoid. :)

Lately, I have been using an app on my iPhone called "Couch-to-5k". I am lovvvvinggg it!! I have always wanted to be able to run, but physically I just couldn't. This app trains you by slowly building up the number of minutes a person runs versus walks. I am enjoying it a ton and am up to running about 6 minutes at a time (don't laugh... this is a HUGE deal for me!!)... I am hoping to eventually be able to run my entire work out! Can't wait!

On the work out menu for this week...

Sunday : Couch-to-5k work out and upper body lifting.

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 20-30 minutes on the elliptical and light lifting.

Wednesday: Hitting up a new gym with my friend, Denise. Probably some kind of cardio/circuit work out.

Thursday: Couch-to-5k work out. 

Friday: Off

Saturday: Zumba class and 20 minutes on the elliptical.

I wish I could say that everything in my life goes according to plan, but we all know that never happens! lol It is important to at least have a plan in place though! I work full time, go to school part time, and have a home to take care of... planning is my only key to success! 

Now, for those of you who are wondering what Russian Chicken is...

http://muffinbites.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/golfers-chicken/

Russian Chicken

1 package boneless, skinless chicken (I bought thighs)

1 jar apricot preserves

1 packet dry onion soup mix

1 bottle Russian dressing

Preheat oven to 325*. Spray bottom of baking dish. Place raw chicken cutlets in dish. Cover with dry onion soup mix, then jam and dressing. Cover and bake for 1.5 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Usually it is served over rice, but I am serving it over roasted spaghetti squash to cut out carbs. Enjoy! :)

Have a great week and make sure to plan ahead for success!!!