ms.sss

i still love my decision to get an arm lift...BUT it does take some work to keep them looking toned. i've been up and down in keeping up with my arm appearance maintenance over the years, but lately i've been on an upswing (thanks yoga and pilates addictions!): (and yeah, the the arm lift recovery was the hardest/longest/most problematic for me from the 3 procedures i had. PRO TIP: take it easy and don't do too much too soon!!! heal first, THEN exercise omg. Eventually though, you will be able to "wave your hands in the air and shake em like you just dont care"!)

ALWAYS. i have more of a "food ordering" addiction than an actual food-EATING one. it reached a point long ago that Mr. will UNDER-order cuz he knows he will end up eating mine. WIN-WIN, in my opinion!

the before and after here look exactly the same! 😂 kinda like when you're a kid and you push your food around on the plate to make it look like you ate (but totally DIDN'T!)

inspired by this post, and prolonging the acorn squash love fest, i went and made these stuffed acorn squashes tonight!!! the stuffing was bread cubes from old dinner rolls, with the insides of a couple spicy Italian sausages, dried cranberries, apples, onions, more acorn squash, vegetable broth, butter and seasonings. they are quite delicious! and huge! AND sooooo filling!! Mr. and i shared 1 of the halves for dinner and we were done (he ate most, natch).

@Sophie7713 !!! there u are! we've missed you! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ speedy recovery for u!!!

lol great minds...(i.e., ice cream!)...it was another unusually warm day for this time of year around these parts, so i made Mr. take me out to get some. they were out of pistachio (my fave flavour) so we went to the grocery to buy a tub (and a box of sugar cones) instead. no keto ice cream for me...this is the full fat-sugar-cream version, ha. this likely will be the last picture of me standing upright today, i think...as i ate the entire thing and the anticipated dumping im about to experience will surely have me regret it in 3..2..1...

yesterday's smoked salmon avocado salad was so yum, i made another one...this time i added more stuff just cuz. salmon, avocado, strawberries, dried cranberries, gouda, brocollini, and....pumpkin pie!! haha, it was the last slice leftover from (canadian) thanksgiving last week hahah...didn't end up eating any of it anyway (and none of the brocollini either for some reason), but ate maybe ½ of everything else. 704 calories for the plate...not gonna adjust for what i actually ate cuz im most likely gonna finish the rest later. isnt it so colourful and pretty????

same. i make a mean, super duper sweet filipino milk flan. i limit myself to like a single bite or two at a time but i will say its a hit at parties. FILIPINO LECHE FLAN: INGREDIENTS 10 room temperature egg yolks ( i usually use the unused egg whites to make a palvova or almond cookies or macarons) 1 can condensed milk 1 can evaporated milk 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional) 1 tsp fresh lime juice 1/2 cup sugar DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 melt sugar in bottom of pans whisk egg yolks add condensed milk, stir until combined add evaporated milk, vanilla and optional lime & mix well (slowly so no air bubbles) pour mixture through cheesecloth or sieve to remove any undissolved bits pour into pans tap the pans onto hard surface to remove any bubbles cover pans loosely with foil put pans into a roasting pan then fill roasting pan with water until reaches halfway up the flan pans bake 35-40 mins until set (firm but still jiggly) let cool and put in fridge for at least 3 hours remove from pan by placing a plate on top and carefully flipping over to release to goodness lol

i had my surgery in October 24 (2018). halloween was a non-issue...i did not have any interest in eating anything, let alone candy/chips/chocolate. come Christmas i was about 2 months post. and i truth be told i ate too much. from a regular-sized persons perspective i hardly ate anything at all, but for post-wls me, it was waaaay too much. went to 3 xmas meals in 2 days and i logged 800 cals day 1 and about 1200 day 2. but i barfed both days, so... also had my first (and worst!) dumping episode from a couple sips of a sugary cocktail (i ended up on the bathroom floor and carried upstairs to bed by Mr. where i passed out...good times 🙄) sooooo...mark me down as a cautionary tale. take it easy, eat slowly and small amounts. aside: btw, im 6 yrs out now and food parties and outings have long ago no longer result in nights on the bathroom floor for me. i can eat (taste) anything and everything and be perfectly happy.

for me: (1) continuing to track my food intake (via MFP) and weighing myself daily...and making adjustments when a moving weight trend shows up in either direction i dont really want. also, (2) regular exercise (which morphed into a love for exercise) and (3) striving to maintain an angst-free existence: understanding that i am not perfect, that nothing is forever, that i believe i can and will adapt, accept OR change, whatever the circumstances. i am 6 years post op next week and have maintained below goal weight this entire time, following my own advice above. i know that my M.O. is not for everyone...but i also know that each one of us can figure out what works for us (and what doesn't) and act accordingly, if we choose to.

first meal of the day: i was soooooo excited to eat this while i was preparing it...and yes, it was crazy delicious!!! smoked salmon, avocado, yuzu cream sauce, capers & toasted sesame seeds. with a side of some homemade feta focaccia i made yesterday. soooooooooooooooo yummer omg. a whopping 776 calories for the plate, ate roughly 2/3 of it (?)...Mr. ate the rest.

um...i cut myself like at least once a month, ha!

final result looks great! but methinks i like your pants better!!! ❤️❤️

omg i was holding my breath watching this cuz i thought there was gonna be an accident! knife safety please!!!

i was just thinking the background does look fake, doesn't it??? 😂😂

ok! so first i put it in the microwave for like 2 mins to soften it so i can cut it. acorn squashes are HARD!! cut in half, place cut side down in oven to ROAST for 20-ish mins at 350°F, then cut side up with a dollop of butter (and optional brown sugar) in the cavity for another 30-ish mins. if its soft enough for ur liking its done! (so yum!...also, i ALWAYS add the "optional" brown sugar )

i had low levels of vitamin a the first 3-4 months. and yeah, ur right, for some reason most multivitamins dont seem to include much of it...so my doc had me take extra vitamins a (via supplements) during those months, until he was satisfied with my levels (i had my labs done 6 times the first 6 months) low vitamin a (all vitamins, really) is common among wls patients cuz we really just dont eat enough (i basically ate almost nothing the first 3 months)! Also, when u eat alot of protein (like we are all told to do), our vitamin A needs increase. further, prolonged protein UNDER-eating hampers vitamin a storage and transport within our bodies and blood systems (science, baby!) once i started eating more my levels became satisfactory. (fish, eggs, dairy! yum! green leafy stuff, practically all fruits and veggies! also yum! but liver too...not so very yum, ha) do you/have you ever track/tracked your macro consumption?

some things i've eaten the past week... 1) ½ an oven roasted acorn squash with butter and seasonings: est. 150 cals. ate ½ 2) homemade cabbage soup with 5 homemade pork and cabbage meatballs: est. 400 cals, ate/drank it all except for 2 meatballs. 3) ben & jerry's coffee ice cream, sour cream and onion chips, and a dark chocolate Godiva truffle: est. 500 cals, ate it all. 4) beet salad (beets, feta, balsamic glaze, green onion, ginger, vinaigrette): est. 275 cals, ate it all. 5) 1/4 sesame bagel w/ cream cheese and feta, roasted pork belly slices w/ ginger onion condiment : est. 550 calories, ate it all. 6) raspberry (9%) yogurt cup with black pepper: 175 cals, ate it all

verdict?

love em all!!

entertaining! we scored like 3rd row seats so we got up close and personal with our fellow Canadian! but gotta say, all her work has made her unrecognizable from her heyday....still a fun night tho IMG_7732.mov

and yeah...i NEEDED some dessert (before i showered! lol)...so totally ate these 4 squares of hazelnut milk chocolate! 143 calories! btw, Mr. is eating chips right now, so i will likely be logging some chips servings in MFP later on.....

don't judge me! had a 2.5 hour back to back hot power yoga classes tonight and came home absolutely STARVING. grabbed what was available before i even showered omg: a cold mini butter chicken meat pie, a can of smoked oysters w/ seafood sauce, and almost-expired blue cheese. 427 calories for all of it...scarfed it all in like 30 mins (except the meat pie crust...not very appetizing when cold. ew.)