joatsaint

Holy Carpe diem Batman! :-P Time to change the Bat-underwear.

Update 4/5/2013 I tried making lasagna out of the noodles tonight. It tasted very good. I layered a small glass dish with the noodles, covered it with spaghetti sauce, put on a layer of sliced black olives, and a layer of mozzarella cheese. Baked for 30 minutes at 350 and let it sit in the oven for an additional 15 minutes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I tried making my spaghetti noodles from the recipe below. It turned out really well. I couldn't leave the basic recipe alone and had to add some garlic and onion to the pureed chicken. Also my store does not carry powdered eggs, so I bought a box of liquid egg whites and used that instead. I picked up a squeeze bottle in the housewares section of Walmart for 97 cents. And a jar of Alfredo sauce. It tasted pretty good with Alfredo, but I prefer spaghetti sauce on the noodles. The toughest part was getting the right combination of water to chicken ratio. I wanted it thick enough hold together as it came out of the squeeze bottle, yet thin enough to pour into the squeeze bottle. Never did get it right. It was thicker than I wanted and I wound up using the handle of spoon to poke it down the throat of a funnel and into the bottle. So I got the water to a rolling boil and had my squeeze bottle loaded for bear. Gave it a big squeeze and started goin round and round like I was making a funnel cake. About the 5th round, the bottle gave out a big "SPLAT" - did you know that even the smallest droplets of boiling water hurt when they hit your forearms? So take a tip - turn the bottle upside down and tap it on the counter to pack down the liquid chicken as much as possible before squeezing over the boiling water! It was a big chicken breast, probably 10oz.. It was enough to load the bottle 2 1/2 times. Tips: Freeze the raw chicken until it's stiff and sounds kinda crunchy when you bend it. This will make it easier to cut into cubes and puree. I found out the hard way that floppy chicken tends to wrap itself around the blender blades. The warmer the chicken, the stretchier it gets. Cut the chicken into 1 inch or smaller pieces - this will also help prevent the chicken from wrapping around the blades and extend the life of your blender motor. Liquid egg whites work well in this recipe if you can't find the powdered egg whites. I used about 1/4 - 1/2 cup per chicken breast. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The recipe was off Rachael Ray's site. Watch the video, use this link: http://www.rachaelra...ta-al-pomodoro/ Rocco DiSpirito's Pasta al Pomodoro Aired on: April 1, 2013 6 grams of fat 133 calories Ingredients 3/4 cup cold water 2 tablespoons egg white powder 6 ounces cold chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 7 cloves garlic, sliced thin 1 pinch red chili flakes (pepperoncino) 2 cups whole fresh ready to burst ripe tomatoes, cut into large dice Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated 16 leaves of fresh basil, torn by hand into small pieces Yields: 4 Preparation Boil 4 quarts of water in a large pot. Once the water is boiling add 2 tablespoons of salt. Preheat broiler. Place the water and the egg white powder in the beaker of a blender, and blend on low speed until all the powder has dissolved, then add the chicken breast and blend on high speed until smooth and glossy. Place the contents of the blender into a squeeze bottle and set in the refrigerator. Pour the olive oil into a large nonstick sauté pan and then lay out the garlic slices in one even layer over the top of the pan. Place the pan over medium to high heat and cook the garlic until it begins to brown, then move the pan to the middle rack of the oven under the broiler to continue to brown the top of the garlic, about 1 minute. Place the pan back on the stove and add red chili flakes and half the basil leaves, cook for 15 seconds and then add the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes over medium heat until the sauce comes to a simmer and let cook until the sauce has slightly thickened but still loose, about 2 minutes. Add half of the cheese and stir it completely into the sauce and turn off the stove and season lightly with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Turn the boiling water down to low heat and squeeze the chicken mixture out of the squeeze bottle in a steady stream into the boiling water into strands the same length as spaghetti, about 10 inches until there is no more room on the surface of the water. Let the noodles cook for 30 seconds then remove them with a strainer or spider, set them aside in a bowl and repeat until all of the chicken mixture is used. Add the noodles to the pan and turn the heat to medium high heat. Toss the pasta to coat evenly with a heat resistant rubber spatula and cook until the sauce begins to cling to the noodles. Add the remaining basil and check seasoning. Plate the pasta on four separate plates and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Tip: Use a store-bought, fat free, no added sugar marinara sauce and you can make this meal in less then 10 minutes. Per Serving: 133 calories, 6.17g fat (2g sat, 3g mono, 1g poly), 6.25mg cholesterol, 114.75mg sodium, 4.575g carbohydrates, 1.1g fiber, 13.05g protein

I watched as many VSG and bariatric surgery videos on Youtube as I could. I wanted to know the good, the bad and the ugly. I chose to watch people that had posted at least a year of videos covering their progress.

I was truly surprised to see the calorie difference between 4oz. of 93% hamburger and 85% hamburger. Almost 110 calories per 4oz.! Even though the 93% costs about $1 per lb more, I've noticed that, after cooking, the amount of cooked hamburger is almost the same between the two. There's so much shrinkage, that they are pretty much the same in cost in the end. So I think I'll spend the extra dollar per pound and save 110 calories. I thought it might be enlightening to grab some common calorie counts for ground beef, chicken and turkey and compare them side-by-side. Click on the pics to enlarge them. Standard Disclaimer: This is by no means the definitive numbers for these products. The numbers vary depending on the manufacturer. These numbers are presented to make you aware of the differences in calorie counts and fat content. You can find much more specific details by manufacturer or by food group by searching this database: http://caloriecount....oods&searchpro= George Carlin's Advertising Disclaimer: No cash? No problem! No kidding! No fuss, no muss, No risk, no obligation, no red tape, no down payment, No entry fee, no hidden charges, no purchase necessary, No one will call on you, no payments or interest till September. Limited time only, though, so act now, order today, send no money, Offer good while supplies last, two to a customer, each item sold separately, Batteries not included, mileage may vary, all sales are final, Allow six weeks for delivery, some items not available, Some assembly required, some restrictions may apply. So come on in for a free demonstration and a free consultation with our friendly, professional staff. Our experienced and knowledgeable sales representatives will help you make a selection that's just right for you and just right for your budget. And say, don't forget to pick up your free gift: a classic deluxe custom designer luxury prestige high-quality premium select gourmet pocket pencil sharpener. Yours for the asking, no purchase necessary. It's our way of saying thank you. And if you act now, we'll include an extra added free complimentary bonus gift at no cost to you: a classic deluxe custom designer luxury prestige high-quality premium select gourmet combination key ring, magnifying glass, and garden hose, in a genuine imitation leather-style carrying case with authentic vinyl trim. Yours for the asking, no purchase necessary. It's our way of saying thank you.

Let the countdown begin. Weighed in at 305 or less 2 days in a row - so it's official, 305 lbs. (I don't officially call it until I've been at a weight for at least 2 days!). Weighed in at 304.8 this morning, 305.8 at 5pm., let's see if it happens two days in a row again! Just a matter of days until I'm below 300 lbs - 1st time I'll be that low in almost 4 years. Hard to believe I'm losing weight. Been too many years hoping the dream would come true, and this actually happening to me are too difficult to accept as real. I keep thinking I might be in a dream or I'm being punked. I'll wake up and POOF, I'm still in my old body. The thoughts of it not being real and being disappointed again keep crowding in. Don't know when I'll let myself accept the reality of being at a lower weight. Oh well, I'll just keep drifting down the river Denial. Maybe I can deny myself right into 190 lbs. :-P

Dealing With Stalls Just be patient. I know it's frustrating when the scale doesn't move. I'm on week 11 and I've had at least 3 different weeks where the scale doesn't move for 7 days, then I'll mysteriously be down 2 - 3 pounds overnight. Your body is just acclimating to the lower calorie intake and sometimes it is holding onto every calorie, trying to replace the glycogen stores in the muscles. I don't have a formula for getting the scale moving again, but I do try to mix things up to keep my body from getting used to a set pattern. I walk a little extra, up my vegetable intake, or eat low carb for a day or two to see how my body will react. I was eating pistachio nuts and sunflower seeds last week and EEEEEKKKKKK! I gained 2 lbs that week. Monday I went back to basics of eating my refried beans and chicken (eating 4oz every 2 hours), this morning I've lost the extra 2 lbs plus another 1lb. For the 1st time in 4 years I'm under 310lbs.

Here are 2 threads you might check out and see the results of losing over 100lbs. You might also send them a private message asking about loose skin. Do a forum search for "selfie" without the quotes to find more threads like these. http://www.verticals...age__hl__selfie http://www.verticals...age__hl__selfie You can also check out the Anti-Jared. This guy lost 225lbs and you can see how his skin holds up. http://theantijared.com/about-me Now if my gut will only look like that when I reach my goal! I would be so happy.

Just got back from my 2 week checkup. Down 21 lbs from my pre-surgery start weight. Doc put me on the puree diet and told me to walk at least 1 hr a day 4 - 5 times a week. That's going to be difficult because of all the rain coming up for the next week. I'm doing pretty well with cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup and peanut butter. But I've tested a tiny bite of chicken, hamburger and Vienna sausages, seems like anything along those lines is still too tough for my stomach. Almost immediately I can feel rolling gas bubbles in my stomach and I have to burp. Found some great food storage containers at Wal-Mart. They seem to be the perfect size for how much I can eat at one sitting.

I guess I was lucky at my 1st try with tasting protein shakes. I got a 4 pack of EAS carb control chocolate at Walmart - and if you like chocolate, they are pretty good, just a little thinner than I like. So I tossed in a scoop of some powdered chocolate protein I already had and made it a little thicker and chocolatier (is chocolatier a word? :-P) Anyway, later on I tried Premier Protein chocolate shakes - I had to buy a 12 pack to test them out - and they are even better than EAS, but I still throw in a scoop of the powdered chocolate protein - I just like the thicker feeling. I tried not to go too overboard with my purchasing and just stuck with the basics. I had previously counted on the reduced food bills as part of recovering the cost of surgery over the next 3 to 5 years. Try not to get too caught up in the excitement of trying new flavors of protein shakes or you may wind up with a bunch of product that you don't eat, wasted money, and get discouraged. You'll only be on the shakes for a short time before your doctor is going to want you to get your nutrition from solid food.

Well, it's been 21 days since my surgery. I'm having trouble getting in enough walking. My feet and hips get seriously sore after 20 minutes of walking. I'm not sure that I've fully gotten over my cold because I feel very weak and tired every day. I've noticed that I don't sleep as much anymore. Previously, I'd sleep between 8 and 10 hours but now I sleep about 7 and wake up and can't get back to sleep. I've been stuck at the same weight for the past 5 days. I've been watching my calorie intake pretty closely and know that I'm taking in between 700 - 1000 calories a day. I figure that plus the walking should be making an impact. It could just be a plateau, so I'll just keep on keeping on. One bit of good news, I had to punch a new hole in my belt. So now I'm one notch smaller. The 2nd bit of good news is that I haven't felt hungry since the surgery. Hunger has always plagued me - as far back as I can remember. It was like a little nagging kid pulling at my sleeve. And I couldn't get rid of him. I knew that 2 hours after eating a meal of almost any size, that I'd be digging in the fridge for the next thing to eat. I knew that I was not physically hungry, but the constant need to eat drove me to put something in my stomach as soon as there was room. I believe it was the over production of ghrelin (wiki link) in my stomach that caused me to be hungry all the time. I am sure that I was a food addict. I've been testing different foods. So far I've found that my stomach can handle fat free re-fried beans with salsa and a little hamburger, peanut butter, fat free yogurt, cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup and hard boiled eggs. I still can't handle chicken, sugar free popsicles or sugar free jell-o. One tsp and I almost immediately feel gas bubbles rolling through my stomach. In case you're interested in how I test new foods, I normally eat 1/2 tsp of the new food. Wait 5 minutes. If everything feels okay, I eat a full tsp. My stomach will usually let me know how it feels about a food after the 1st or 2nd bite. I haven't tried any other drinks besides Crystal Light lemonade and water. I've been drinking Crystal Light for over 10 years and never gotten tired of it. I wish it was out there back when I was a kid. But the only diet drinks back then were horrible! Tab and Fresca - MAN, those were some awful flavors. Anyone else remember Tab and Fresca? Anyone drink more than 1 can before throwing it away?

I never took my temperature, but the week after surgery, I felt like I was getting over a bad cold. The feeling went away by the 2nd week.

Without getting to graphic, it was monstrous. I weighed after I got off work and was over a pound lighter. I think I can punch a new notch in my belt tonight.

Gastronomically, things are crazy. I've been passing gas (and I don't mean gas as in gas station!) every night. I wake up at 1:30am or 4:30am belching and farting like crazy. I've passed so much gas I'm afraid to turn on the lights - I might set off a spark and cause an explosion. I can lay on my left side and feel okay. If I switch to my right, I can feel and hear gurgling in my stomach. Don't understand that. But it all stops right after I wake up for work, I guess that's a small blessing for my co-workers. :-) I'm thinking that since my bowel movements have slowed to every other day, the food sitting in my intestines has more time to ferment. Anyone else experience this?

I felt good enough to drive after 7 days.

Even this far out from surgery, I still have problems eating slowly - especially if it is something that goes down easily like peanut butter. By accident I found a way to train myself to eat slower. It's chicken! My stomach doesn't seem to like ground up chicken and I can feel the gurgles and gas building after a bite or two. So I figure, why not use that to my advantage? So I'll be eating more chicken. Knowing that I have to stop eating after a bite is going to force me to lay the spoon down between bites. Anyone else have a food or foods that cause them to have stomach gurgles and gas?

One of my favorite Mexican foods. I've been eating this stuff for about 4 weeks straight. I got all the ingredients at Walmart. It cost about $4 for 2 days worth of meals (4 - 6 meals in my case). It's very filling and sticks with me. 1 lb of chicken breast. 1 pkg of Taco Bell Taco seasoning. (I tried other name brand taco mixes and the store brands, Taco Bell tastes the best and is just as cheap. There is a Taco Bell chipolte version as well, but I liked the regular version the best. ) 1 can of gebhardt refried beans w/fat. (I tried the non-fat version and I like the fat version better. It only has 2grams of fat per serving.) Salsa or Picante or Taco sauce to taste 1 pkg of your favorite shredded cheese. I grill the chicken breast and run it through my food processor. Mix the taco seasoning with about 1/2 cup of water and mix it thoroughly. I mix it in my protein shake shaker. Toss the chicken into a pot or pan and add the taco seasoning. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Mix the chicken and beans in a bowl. Add some salsa if it's too thick for your taste. Spoon some of the mixture into a bowl and top with cheese and salsa.

I'm beginning to wonder if the post-op diet forced our taste buds to go cold turkey from all the processed foods. It may be that the taste bud detox is the reason behind our new food likes and dislikes. :-)

I found one of my trigger foods. It's spaghetti or more specifically pasta. My mom made some homemade spaghetti on Sunday (homemade as in, homemade from a jar, you know, the same line of thought as Olive Garden treats you like family). Really, Olive Garden treats you like family, I don't recall my mom ever presenting a bill at the end of a meal. But I digress. Any way, I took the leftovers home with me. For supper, I ate my normal portion, and a few minutes later wanted another portion - even though my stomach was telling me I was stuffed to the top. I wanted it so bad that I would have cage wrestled a bear for another bowl. It wasn't easy, but I stopped myself. The hardest part - and I can't believe it was so difficult to do - was to throw out the spaghetti. I kept telling myself that I could space out the spaghetti into several meals during the week. But, I knew if I left it in the house, I'd find some way to convince myself to eat more that eventing. There is a dog that trots through my yard daily, so he may be going into insulin shock today! Only 1 other time have I wanted to eat something so bad - it was a banana laying in the fruit bowl. So adios spaghetti noodles, I'll eat you at mom's house, but you won't be coming home with me anymore.

At work on Wednesday they fed us lunch and I couldn't resist the free food. I had a single serving of pototo chips (160 calories) and 1/2 of a big cookie that came with the meal. If I hadn't already eaten earlier I wouldn't have felt so bad about it. So I tried to make up for it by walking an extra mile the same day. Sometimes the temptation is there, it's hard to make the best food choices, but I don't think I went too far overboard. I woke up 2 lbs lighter this morning. You have any tips to avoid temptation?

Gone through it and still going through it several times over the past 7 months. 27lbs in 6 weeks in incredible. Almost 5lbs a week! Just ask yourself, "How fast was I losing weight pre-surgery?" I bet it wasn't 4lbs a week. You are going to go through stalls, we all do. It's part of the process. :-)

For the 1st week I had to be propped up like in the hospital bed. I rolled up one of my comforters and used it to lay against and keep me at the right angle. I think I was able to stop using it after the 2nd week.

Wow, imworthit, too bad you got this message just a little too late. If you had gotten it before surgery, it would have been so worth it! Think of all the money, time and pain you could have avoided if only you'd passed this message onto 14 friends in 10 minutes. Life's a b***h, right?

Well, this is embarrassing to admit, but for the past 2 years I've had to sit down to pee. At some point my gut and the fat pooch above my junk got too big and it was a real hassle (and messy) to use the urinals. So it was just easier and cleaner to sit on the toilet. So it was a happy surprise when I realized yesterday that I could use the urinals again. My job requires a dress shirt. I hated having to drop trou, tuck my shirt tale back in, and fight with my belt every time I went to the bathroom. Now I can go back to hosing down the back of the urinal and destroying the cigarette butts at the bottom. :-P P.S. They must think guys are pretty dumb around here. I saw a sign above the urinal that read, "Please don't eat the big white mint!"

I didn't get any feedback directly from the head shrinker. He gave the results to my surgeon's office.

I cut back when I got to the full foods stage - about week 6. I still occasionally drink them - mainly after exercise. But I try to get all my protein from real foods now.