ms.sss

HOLY SHITE!! You one brave man (with some serious guns, lol). Congrats on continuing to cross off stuff from the bucket list!!!

The baking extravaganza continues... I had defrosted that discovered box of phyllo, so of course I had to use it, so....today we have Spiced Peach-ginger Turnovers! I had a bite of one. Pretty good, but I’d rather fill my tum with Pavlova. Fam gave the thumbs up though did wonder aloud if I am on a secret mission to make them fat. As if! Anyway, apologies for clogging this thread with desserts...next thing I post will be healthier, pinky swear.

Hi @MsSophisticated1...are you talking to @MarvelGirl25 or me? (I'm asking cuz you quoted me, but it was a response to post about MG's delicious noodle casserole...?)

Ahhhh....i miss Korean BBQ! (we aren't opened up for dine in restaurants here yet....)

Good luck! I’ll def be thinking of u all day.

+1

Ah clothes shopping...how i miss thee. You are looking fabulous! Have you lost more weight?

I count/limit carbs. I also watch my calories. I’m 20 months out, and been out of weight loss mode for over a year. i dont think I track because of fear or mistrust or fanaticism. I just do. Its habit, i guess. Plus it sort of speaks to my spreadsheet-loving, anal personality, lol. Like @Recidivist, my body seems to be very easily influenced by carb limitation. I can quickly drop weight if I cut them out. I don’t know if it makes me gain weight in the same manner though, as haven’t tested it out the other way (i.e., loading up on carbs for an extended period of time). I average maybe 100g NET cabs these days...which includes my occasional dessert-indulgences. However, while I was in weight loss mode, I was under 20-30g NET carbs...and I really believe this is what fuelled the speed of my weight loss (well, that and my self-imposed calorie restriction). I did this for 6-7 months, and was pretty strict about it. With that said, I don't think I could have sustained a 20-30g carb level intake indefinitely (nor would I want to...like i said, i love me some dessert)...but I know I can always employ that strategy when needed. In fact, I did it twice already: once after a vacation last year (lost a 5lb gain in less than 2 weeks), and then again just recently (lost a 6lb gain in less than 4 weeks) Like with everything, do what works best for YOU. If counting/limiting carbs gives you stress/anxiety/decreases your quality of life, then don’t do it. But if you can handle it, then give it a try, from my own personal experience, it seems to work. But yeah, its not for everyone. P.S. I love food. We have a great relationship ❤️ I just don’t eat as much of it anymore.

So the meringue ended up being part of a Pavlova! (Thx @sillykitty for the suggestion!) I give you: Lemon Curd Pavlova topped with Roasted Almonds! I admit I skipped dinner so I could just have dessert. Don’t judge me.

Googled. Recipe bookmarked. Making this next week!

Yum!!!

If you eat meats/seafood then that will def fit the bill. Grilled/baked/air-fried....

Whoa. That is probably the least expensive American pricing I have read to date. Nice!!!

I was/am in my late 40’s when I had it done. As @catwoman7 alluded to, you are never too (chronologically) old to want to look and feel awesome. Check out Vera Wang (the famed bridal designer). She’s 70. Seventy!!

What the?!?! Well, duh. And I already bought the monster steaks for gilling tomorrow. Guess Mr. is getting 2 Father's Days this year. 🙄

Speaking of baking, I was having an insomniac night last night AND was having wicked peanut butter cravings, so I baked up a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies at like 3am. By the time it was done and cooled, the craving passed, and I got sleepy, so I figured I'd just leave them for fam to eat some for breakfast. By the time I went downstairs this AM, they were gone. They must have been good! (They sure smelled delicious)

OK, we had all these egg whites sitting doing nothing in the fridge after Mr. made his pasta the other day. So I figured I'd make meringue with it and use it for some yet-to-be-determined dessert(s). Tomorrow is Father's Day after all, may as well do some guerrilla baking! Based on what I've got in the fridge/freezer and pantry, it's going to be something peach-y OR blueberry-y OR lemon-y (or maybe one of each?). Also got a box of phyllo sheets I found in the recesses of my freezer drawer. I'm excited now to go google some ideas.... Check out the meringue. I could putty bricks with this stuff, lol.

Yeah, from what I’ve read on the boards, it does seem to lean on the less expensive side...maybe because it’s Canada? Or maybe because my city just isn’t a plastics hot-spot like others? I’m just guessing...who knows... Interestingly enough, my surgeon wasn’t even the cheapest one I met with...but he was the one I liked the most, demeanour-wise. I just had a TT. I had asked about the LBL at my initial consult, but my guy said he doesn’t like to do them, he said he preferred to do one side of the body at a time for various reasons. But more importantly, doing an LBL with my other planned surgeries would have me “under” longer than he would like. Which was fine with me at the time. Though now I look at my flat, saggy butt and dream of fabulously luscious a$$es you wanna take a bite of, like @GreenTealael’s, lol. Plastics are addictive!!

Wow!! 7 years strong maintaining a 10lb spread? Thats’s amazing! I hope to be just like you in 7 years ❤️ !! Good luck w/ your consults, and yeah, make sure you get a surgeon that you mesh well with...it makes things smoother (and one less thing to deal with!) P.S. at the time of my consult (June 2019), my surgeon’s first open slot was 9 months out (so like March 2020...and this was PRE-covid!). But since my combined surgeries were going to take 5-6 hours, he opened up a day specifically for me (I was his only patient that day) 3 months earlier, in Dec 2019. Sooooo...I guess what Im saying is everything is negotiable, lol

I paid roughly $15K total all-in for a Tummy Tuck (with muscle tightening and flank lipo), Breast Lift & Arm Lift (the panniculectomy portion of the TT was covered by insurance...if it wasn’t, I would’ve had to pay an extra $5-6K). I was in hospital for 2 nights (also covered by insurance). P.S. the $15K was in Canadian dollars, so that’s like Monopoly money for you U.S.-ers, lol. P.P.S. Despite the sometimes rough recovery, it was some of the best money I ever spent. @janc75 : Are you looking to get stuff done soon?? Am excited for you...! Edited to add: FYI: I had the surgeries in Dec 2019, and the pricing was based on the current prices as at June 2019, when I had my first consult)

“Reunited, and if feels so good...” I feel like my salad intake has decreased dramatically lately... Anyhoo, today’s lunch: SALAD! Romaine, carrots, cucumber, cheddar, corn kernels, pumpkin seeds, snack size can of spicy Thai tuna & my fave vinaigrette...399 cals for the entire thing (i think i made this with tad bit too much optimism, will likely not finish this in one sitting...)

Safe travels tomorrow, @Darktowerdream...and will be sending you good vibes Monday! ❤️

Be kind to yourself ❤️, you just had major surgery. Yeah you lost your sh*t, but you had the ability to get it together eventually and had an honest and constructive conversation with your husband, AND come up with a mutually acceptable plan. That's a win in my book. P.S. It does get better, if you let it. Go Girl! ❤️

I wish I had a my own personal rolling pinner....😂

@Suzi_the_Q : so all this corset talk sent me down the corset-research rabbit hole yesterday, LOL. While I am not really in the market for a corset for its waist-cinching abilities, I started looking into them because I AM in the market for a lower abdominal cinching/compression/squishing device. As I mentioned earlier, I had a tummy tuck almost 6 months ago have have been wearing an abdominal binder to address the swelling (doc says it can persist for up to a year. a YEAR!!). The binder is just a basic elasticized "belt" with a velcro closure that I wrap around my lower abdomen/hips. My problem(s) are that (1) my waist is relatively smaller than my lower abdomen/hips (there's about a 9-10 inch difference) so the top part of the binder gapes alot and is forever riding up to move OFF of where I want it to stay. Angling the velcro closure to make it it fits smaller up top, has the same effect. (2) My hip bones seem to stick out further out than the dreaded swell bump, so I can't seem to get a snug enough fit/compression level across my lower abdomen for my liking, AND I end up with sore hip bones from the friction from trying to pull it tight enough. Sooooooo....I thought maybe a corset would do the trick, since there would be a real fit through the waist to the lower abs (to prevent ride up), and could possibly also address the hip bone protrusion situation because the added help of the steel busk down the front (to compress my lower abdomen without pressing down on my hip bones). Anyway, this is my long-winded lead up to ask: When you were corseting, did you also find that there was alot of compression to the lower abdomen? I'm thinking a body suit corset would do the trick, as the more traditional ones without the attached panty *look* like they are still pretty loose at the bottom hem...? I get there are no actual bones to move around in that area for any permanent squishing, I'm really just looking for some effective compression on my swell bulge for my current body shape. Or am I going down the wrong rabbit hole for my needs? Thoughts?