Des0520

Today had some super yummy foods and a snack that I have since had taken out of my challenge plan. We weren't up for another free meal and had a dinner date with some friends, so we loaded up our little meals in a cooler and headed over. I find it funny that as picky as I am I'm still going strong on this challenge and my husband isn't. He was the one that wanted to do this challenge and he is struggling big time. I had to talk him out of stopping at Wendy's on the way home for a frosty. I find it so funny. Breakfast - Cran Apple Oats :wub: Still yummy. It's almost like a comfort food for me. Snack 1 - Hummus Bowl I still don't like this and have had it removed from my meal plan. Lunch - Char-grilled Crazy Chicken This was just ok. It kind of had a strange aftertaste and I'm not sure how much I actually like it. It had 120 cal, 3g fat, 13.5 carbs, and 10.5g protein for half of a small. Snack 2 - Dark Chocolate Peanut Bar :wub: This is another flavor of the oatmega bars and it was just as yummy as all the others. It had 190 cal, 6g fat, 23 carbs, and 14g protein. Dinner - Fit Nation Nuggets :wub: I wasn't sure what to expect. They give you some mustard dip stuff and I didn't know how that would go but it was awesome. The mustard gave a tang to the sweetness of the breading around the chicken, almost like you dipped it in honey mustard. Definitely a meal I'd eat again. Half a small has 125 cal, 4.5g fat, 10.5 carbs, and 9.5g protein. I had a protein shake after dinner because I was starting to get a headache which is sometimes normal when I haven't had enough protein. I did struggle with getting in all my water which is why I lost so little I'm sure. Daily Totals: Calories - 925 Fat - 27.5 Carbs - 87.5 Protein - 76.5 Water - 60 oz Weight Lost to date - 11.6 lbs

Day 6 had some good food and some not so good food. This is becoming easier and easier for me. Breakfast - HTown :wub: This was supper yummy! I'm loving every breakfast so far. The only compliant I kinda have is the cinnamon they put on everything was on the potatoes, but it was light. This breakfast had 145cal, 6g fat, 8 carbs, and 11.5 g protein for half of a small. Snack 1 - Edamame :wub: Still love this! Lunch - Turkey Loaf So thankful that I do not have to eat this again for the rest of the challenge! Snack 2 - Trail Mix :wub: Another yummy snack. Dinner - Ninja Tenders :wub: Just as yummy the second time around. I didn't drink a protein shake on this day because I didn't stay up too late. Daily Totals: Calories - 920 Fat - 45 Carbs - 65.5 Protein - 62 Water - 80 Weight Lost - 11.8 lbs

Another semi ok day. I did not like a couple of things I had to eat and I am not looking forward to eating the other half of them again. I lost track of my weight and what I lost on what days, so I am just going to start with giving the total weight I am down from here on out. As I'm typing this I'm 15 min from a snack and my mouth is watering lol (it's a good one today). Breakfast - Cran Apple Oats :wub: This was super yummy and a nice change from eating eggs. Adding walnuts to oatmeal is one of my favorite things to do. I usually add in cranberries, but never with apple. I thought they all worked well together. I am looking forward to eating this again. It has 190 cal, 6g fat, 31.5 carbs, and 6.5g protein. I know the carbs seem high, but I don't eat oatmeal often so I'm not worried. Snack 1 - Fit Cookie :wub: Another cookie. I still love these! Lunch - Turkey Meatloaf Yuck and double Yuck. This was not good. The turkey was powerfully flavored, but not in a good way and the mashed sweet potatoes had too much cinnamon in them. I do not want to eat this again that's for sure, but I have to tomorrow. It has 125 cal, 4g fat, 15.5 carbs, and 7.5g protein. Snack 2 - Healthy Hummus Bowl Well I've never really tried hummus before and I now know that I do not like it. All in all it wasn't bad, I had veggies to eat on, but they should make it peanut butter instead of hummus. It has 180 cal, 7g fat, 6 carbs, and 12g protein. Dinner - Ninja Tenderloin :wub: So yummy. The steak was tender and well seasoned and melt in your mouth good. I really liked this one. It had 190 cal, 7g fat, 5 carbs, and 26g protein. I did add in a protein shake because we were up really late. Please remember that I eat half of a small meal for my main meals and a regular snack (they are usually pretty small and I can't split them). Daily Totals: Calories - 955 Fat - 31 Carbs - 79 Protein - 86g Water - 80oz Weight Lost to Date - 9.4 lbs

Day 4 wasn't a bad day. I got to try a couple of new snacks, but the meals I've had before. I don't find myself craving anything and my nails are actually growing faster. I guess I'm getting more out of my food than what daily vitamin doses provide. I don't have much to say about day 4, but will have tons to say about day 5. I didn't feel crummy after having a meal out either, but I didn't lose as much. Breakfast - Breakfast Tacos. :wub: Still yummy as ever! Snack 1 - Trailmix. :wub: Loved this, but not sure of the NUT values. I know they are nuts and high in fat and all that but still. For a small it had 210 Cal, 12g Fat, 24 Carbs, 5g Protein. Lunch - Turkey Pasta I have determined that I do not like this at all. It's just too spiced (not hot, just too many). I will be having it removed from the rest of my challenge. Snack 2 - Oatmega Mocha Bar :wub: This was so freaking good. I'm glad they only give you one at a time or I'd try and live off of them. Puts all other bars to shame. It has 190 Cal, 6g Fat, 23 Carbs, and 14g Protein. Dinner - Chicken and Veggies :wub: Still loved this. The pesto is what makes it yummy! I did have a protein shake after dinner because I realize that I need that extra protein boost no matter what. Daily totals: Calories - 975 Fat - 39.5g Carbs - 83 Protein - 75.5g Water - 80 oz Weight - 0.6 lbs

It was a good one. Unfortunately not all of them are.

I just say I have a thumb stomach. If they don't get it I hold up my fist one one hand and say this is yours, then hold up my thumb from my other hand and say this is mine. I love the stumped looks. Eventually they get it. I don't mind telling anyone about my surgery though, I've talked to many people I know that are considering it and so I'm open and honest with them. I'm not ashamed of it and I know there is a stigma attached, but I know the reasons that lead to me having it and what I did before hand to lose it on my own. So if people want to judge that's on them and Karma will find them.

I like to make oatmeal (the old fashioned kind, not quick oats) and put in some walnuts, apple (if my husband had it), some dried cranberries, cinnamon, and agave nectar to sweeten it. To get my protein in that I mix in some unflavored protein powder.

Day 3 proved to be even easier. Because I split my meals, I only had one new thing I tried today and it was a snack. Food pickup for the next 4 days is tonight and I will have different foods coming in with those meals. And most of them I am looking forward to. I worry about the calories, fat, and carbs so I asked my NUT and she said that she really likes the way I've been eating. She says that the fat and carbs are all naturally occurring in the foods and is better than if I was eating processed foods with those amounts. She did warn me about my protein intake and encourage me to drink a shake in the evening. Personally I am thinking of changing my lunch to one of the low carb meals just to cut out some of the carbs I am eating. I'm really enjoying not having to cook or think about what to make for dinner. Almost daily my husband and I would argue over what sounded good to eat and now we don't have those little stupid arguments. I have been doing cardio on a stationary bicycle because my knee is still bugging me. I'm missing the elliptical right now lol. Day 3 also proved to be awesome because I was down a total of 5.8lbs (I weigh myself in the morning so I count that as being lost in the first 2 days). This is still awesome and hopefully means I am out of my stall! :wub: Because I have eaten most of the meals before I am going to list them out but not include the nut info. The new meal will have my NUT info with it. Breakfast - Mix n Mash (still love it!) Snack 1 - Edamame This snack was very tasty. I've had edamame before and loved it and realized just how much I really do enjoy it. I could take or leave the sauce. It was nice, but not necessary. The edamame comes in only one size and has 250 Calories, 16g Fat, 13 Carbs, and 12g Protein. Lunch - Lemon Turkey (not really a fan, round 1 I wasn't sure, round 2 I'm pretty sure it's a no) Snack 2 - Chicken Fruit Bowl (still struggling with this one. I love the fruit but not the chicken) Dinner - We used our free meal tonight to do a birthday dinner with friends. I am not sure what the NUT value of my meal is because I cannot find it anywhere. It was a mexican food place, but I ate a grilled chicken breast dinner (no, not the whole thing). I was able to avoid the margaritas and stuck with water for the day. Day's totals: (does not include dinner) Calories - 650 Fat - 29.5g Carbs - 47.5 Protein - 47.5g Water - 100 oz Weight - down 5.8

I'm still thinking about it lol. I figured there were other readers out there that might enjoy it. My husband told me to find a book club lol.

I priced mine too, but happened to catch it on sale at bed, bath, and beyond and got about $60 off in the end. So for me catching the sale and having to coupon made it cheaper than walmart or target. I use my Ninja for everything, ice crushing (it makes snow if you run it long enough), blending, juicing, and food processing.

Thanks for the tips. I'm trying to cut out the artificial sweeteners so I'm trying to get more Protein out of my food vs having to drink a shake or eat a bar. I've found that edamame and some chicken with fruit are proving to be some great Snacks with a decent amount of protein. @OTR - that is a great tip for how to make sure I'm getting enough protein. @CoolBreeze - Are you only able to eat veggies? I mostly eat chicken and fish and limit my red meat and pork greatly. Edamame is a veggie that has some good protein in it and is pretty tasty. What kinds of food are you allowed to eat?

I'm 20 months out and figuring out that I'm not hitting the amount of protein on a snack that I would like to. I've been eating 3 small meals and 2 snacks a day, trying to average a min of 10 g protein each time. I am just curious what the avg amount of protein everyone shoots for in a snack that isn't a protein bar or a protein shake.

Congrats!!

@Jessica - the high risk is probably why. I don't have any children and have never been pregnant. PCOS is diagnosed through various test. From what I've read there is no one specific method used by all doctors. For me it was my history of missed periods, extra hair growth, and constant weight gain that caused my doctor to order a lot of blood work. Once that was complete he sent me to get sonograms based on the unbalance of my hormones. The sono nailed the diagnosis in because I have all of these tiny cysts all over my ovaries. So the cysts combined with the hormone levels is what finalized my diagnosis. Once diagnosed, I had more test, biopsies, and then was put on medications.

@Jessica - I find that funny that they won't consider anything for fertility. My doctor was willing to put me on meds when I was over 300, but I had zero health problems other than the PCOS. It was my decision not to at that time because I wanted to be healthier before I added the stress to my body. The time will go faster than you think. I had to wait 18 months and it was gone in the blink of an eye. @Wheetsin - In the 8 years I've been married there has been zero prevention with the exception of the 18 mths after surgery, but we also weren't really trying so I completely understand. I've dropped close to 100 and had no luck at things working for us, but fertility treatments are underway so we shall see. As to weight loss helping fertility, I've read articles that say losing 15% of your body weight greatly increases fertility.

I have a bullet, a blender, and a ninja. The ninja gets used multiple times a day every day. The bullet was used before we bought the ninja and we are actually considering getting rid of the bullet. I still have my blender but it's one of those good ones with a thick glass canister. The only thing I wish was different about the ninja was that it isn't plastic. But it works amazingly well. Mine has a smaller canister and a larger canister. The smaller one works for single serve. It all depends on preference of size you want and the cost of the appliance. Look for them at bed bath and beyond if you have one of those 20% off coupons.

To start off, after day one I was down 2 pounds. I've been on a stall for several months, so for me this 2 pounds was awesome to see! I struggled with a couple more things on day 2, but I am trying new foods, so I expect it. One other thing I noticed was that I was tired in the afternoon, but I didn't get much sleep the night before. I also took some allergy meds that make me sleepy, so all that combined caused me to crash. In this challenge if you feel like you are getting tired they recommend another dose of B12, I opted out of that so I could sleep. The Liver Cleanse - Changed it up on Day 2 If you read the blog on Day 1, you'll know that the liver cleanse made me sick. So today I changed it up a little bit. I mixed the cranberry juice with the B12 and drank it first thing. I then added the lemon to my first round of water and eliminated the apple cider vinegar. I didn't feel sick at all, so this is the modified cleanse I will use going forward. I've done some reading on the liver cleanse and some say it's crap, so I don't feel too bad about not doing it. Breakfast - Breakfast Tacos This was very yummy (I'm beginning to think they have breakfast nailed). Once again the egg was a 5 white to 1 yolk ratio and they were perfectly cooked. The corn tortilla was a nice contrast to the tiny bit of spice in the turkey. I ate one taco which is half of a small and I couldn't finish it. This is one of my favorite meals so far. The breakfast taco (half a portion) contained 160 Calories, 5.5g Fat, 12 Carbs, and 14g Protein. Snack 1 - Fit Cottage I did not like this at all. I don't like cottage cheese, but I hadn't tried it since my sleeve so I gave it a go. No no no. Not for me. If you like cottage cheese you'd probably love this snack. The fruit was good, but some of my blueberries were mushy. I can't say that I'll be eating this snack again. The Fit Cottage contains 200 Calories, 2g Fat, 34 Carbs, and 12g Protein. Lunch - Turkey Pasta This was pretty good. I'm still not 100% sure how much I like it. It was a little spicy but overall it was a yummy spaghetti type of dish. I took half of a small and couldn't finish the half that I took. I don't have much to say on this one because I just don't know how I feel about it. The half portion has 135 Calories, 6g Fat, 17.5 Carbs, and 8g Protein. Snack 2 - Fit Cookie :wub: This was really yummy. I didn't know what to think because of the gluten free, no soy, no wheat, and no egg, but it was soft and tasty and kept me satisfied well past when I was supposed to eat dinner. They sell these in boxes, but I don't recommend getting them if you have a sweet tooth they may not last lol. The cookie has 150 Calories, 6g Fat, 18 Carbs, and 10g Protein. Dinner - Roasted Chicken and Veggies I didn't know what to think of this. It doesn't look impressive and I was skeptical of the pesto sauce. It was actually really really good. The pesto sauce made all the difference. The chicken was well flavored and not dry. I ate most of the half I served myself (again half of a small). The portion of chicken I ate had 160 Calories, 11.5g Fat, 3.5 Carbs, and 10.5g Protein. So day 2 had mixed emotions for me. I was able to eat everything, but struggled at times. I was able to get in half an hour on the bicycle today. We ended the night by making lemon slushies (crushed ice with a lemon squeezed over it) and those were super tart lol. I had more calorie intake today and way less protein. I am going to look at the things I ate to day and either do a different combo, or ask to have the lower protein items removed from my plan. Totals for Day 2: Calories - 805 Fat - 28.5 Carbs - 85 Protein - 54.5 Water - 80 oz Weight Lost - 2 lbs

Well, day one is over and done with and I survived. All in all I really liked the food, but some things more than others. I'm a person that is picky when it comes to the texture of food not so much the taste. My husband was suffering last night with one of the worst headaches he's ever had (big time caffeine withdraw). I have taken photos of all of my meals and added them to the album 21 day challenge. I will continue to do this on all new meals I eat, but not on the repeats. Since I only eat half a meal, I will use one small for 2 days. The guidelines to this challenge is to do a liver cleanse in the morning, drink 80 oz of water minimum, eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, and work out 3 hours a week. O and the only types of drinks allowed are water and green tea. All of the meals are kept refrigerated and heated up according to the directions on the container when it is time to eat them. I was able to get in 80+ ounces of water which increased my intake by 20 oz a day. I did not work out on the first day because of the inflammation in my knee (common for me, and only take a backseat when the pain is sharp). The liver cleanse - This is a nasty little drink. It has unsweetened cranberry juice, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and liquid B12. They have to recipes that you can make, one a shooter type of drink and one a 12 oz drink you sip on. The acidity of the cleanse made me sick. You are supposed to drink it before you eat breakfast and within half an hour of waking up. I did that and couldn't eat for a good hour. So it is not something I recommend. I did something a little different on day 2 which I'll explain tomorrow. Breakfast - Mix N Mash This was a very tasty way to start off my day. It contains chicken, eggs, rice, yellow bell peppers, red bell peppers, and a tiny bit of cheese. The eggs are a 5 white to 1 yolk ratio and are cooked perfectly. The flavors are really nice and not bland like I thought they would be. For half of a small meal it had 120 Calories, 3.5g Fat, 8 Carbs, and 12.5g protein. Snack 1 - Oatmega Mint Chocolate Bar :wub: Where have these bars been??? So tasty and better than any other bar like this I have found. It didn't have that gritty texture and wasn't chalky. The bar has 190 Calories, 6g Fat, 23 Carbs, and 14g Protein. Lunch - Lean Lemon Turkey I didn't know what to think of this, ground turkey and rice. At first glance I was like yay cardboard for lunch. I was surprised though. It had great flavor (I didn't squeeze the lemon wedge on it) and was actually a tiny bit spicy. I was able to eat half of a small and be perfectly full. There is more turkey than rice and I actually didn't end up with that much rice. The half of the meal has 110 Calories, 6g fat, 10.5 carbs, and 9g protein. Snack 2 - Chicken Fruit Bowl This wasn't that great to me. It's a container with chicken, grapes, apple, orange, and grapefruit. The fruit was nice and tasty, but the cold chicken did not appeal to me. I ended up heating up the chicken and that made it better. I think I might not have liked it because it reminded me of how everything tastes in the cafe at work (they use the same spice for anything and everything). All it all it wasn't bad and I wasn't able to finish a small portion (fruit really fills me up). The bowl has 170 Calories, 6g fat, 16 carbs, and 14g protein. Dinner - Funner Fish Sticks This was one of my favorite meals growing up. I haven't had them in forever because they aren't healthy and I didn't know how to make them healthy. These fish sticks are tilapia coated in almond meal and flaxseed breading and very tasty. They meal also has green beans and cinnamon carrots. The cinnamon carrots were very interesting but tasty. I'd never had carrots with cinnamon on them, but this was the first time I was able to eat cooked carrots and enjoy them. I didn't eat the sauce that came with them because it didn't appeal to me. I ate half of a small (2 sticks) and it contains 140 Calories, 6g Fat, 9.5g Carbs, and 11.5g Protein. Protein Snack - Because of the limited calorie intake and my worry about eating at 6 pm and not again for 12 hours, I drank half of a protein shake a few hours after dinner. This is something that is allowed on this challenge. The half a protein shake contained 60 Calories, 0.5g Fat, 1.5 carbs, and 12g protein. All in all I enjoyed the meals on day one and don't think this will be all that bad. I didn't have any cravings during the day and enjoyed the ease of not having to figure out what to eat and the free time from not cooking. Daily Intake Totals: Calories: 790 Fat: 26 Carbs: 68.5 Protein: 73 Water: 80+ oz

I am so sorry you are going through all of that. I will keep you in my thoughts and my fingers crossed. I hope that everything works out well for you. I have to go through all of the clomid steps and then on from there, I don't know how my husband will be down the line, but so far he's not complaining. Have you thought about asking your Dr to move on to one of the other types of fertility treatments?

It might be something that depends on the length of your torso too. You might be able to talk with your surgeon and tell him your concerns.

Is it only lunch that you have this problem with? You can eat breakfast, dinner, and snacks just fine?

You sound exactly like me. I keep thinking shouldn't it be habitual and a no brainer to eat healthy. But no, I let some old habits creep back in and I paid less and less attention to everything. I think it all started when I quit writing down everything I am eating. Like you I am getting back on track and feeling good again. I'm just happy I only had a stall and didn't gain anything back. I know friends that hit this long stall and started gaining back because they gave up.

I actually had to check my scars lol. I couldn't remember. I have one that is close to the bra line, but like TinaMari said it is in the middle. You should be ok.

Get him some B12 lol.