Starwarsandcupcakes

Welcome! I also have POTS and I’m pretty sure I’m on the zebra train as well (frequent dislocations and stretchy skin, I’m looking at you!). Honestly WLS has helped so much with managing my symptoms and just quality of life in general. Hopefully, you’ll find the solution that works best for you.

Spaghetti squash and yes! I find it delicious that way. It ups protein and adds the creamy factor without heavy cream for less calories- 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese is 80 calories and 13g protein where 2tbsp heavy cream is 100 calories and no protein.

Meals for today. Just under 1000 calories. Breakfast- potato, onion, and turkey smoked sausage with garlic powder and paprika. Coffee with a protein shake Lunch- chicken Caesar salad Dinner- spaghetti squash with marinara and cottage cheese.

Even before WLS I was always cold thanks to hypothyroidism. I’m even colder now since losing weight. I wear a long sleeve shirt under my uniforms and a jacket to work most of the time and bundle up at home. I already miss summer. 😩

Not yet but starting in November I’ll be making a career move to day shift in my same position (I currently work nights). It’s a shift difference pay cut but I’m ok with it because it’ll mean better sleep and the ability to do more on my days off.

Made a pot roast from part of that brisket I bought a couple weeks ago (Also broke it down into 5.5lbs of ground beef/ stew meat and a corned beef for next week.). I actually spit out the last piece of roast I was chewing because I felt full. It was also onions and potatoes.

I was in high school (late 90’s) and saw some kind of dateline/news special about bariatric surgery. By that point I was already doing diets with my mom. It had been in my mind since. Fast forward 20 years to 2019 and I had my appendix removed. At my post op appointment my surgeon (who also happened to be a bariatric surgeon- I didn’t know that when the hospital asked me if I had a surgeon I preferred. I chose him because he had previously saved my dads life) asked me if I had thought about weight loss surgery. I said I had and he recommended that I sign up for the program his office offered, so I did.

If you’re newly post-op and purchasing from this site- go with the protein broths, either beef or chicken, and the tomato soup. They’re great savory options among the sea of too sweet protein shakes. When you’re a little farther out, try the sloppy joe packets. Those were some of my favorite products for about a year. Also, if you have trouble swallowing multivitamins then try the bariatricpal protein one powder.

The rare time I eat leftovers that isn’t soup is usually on the same day I have that meal. So, leftover chicken taco casserole from lunch with brown sugar mustard carrots (yellow mustard, brown sugar, and smoked paprika mixed and then tossed with carrots before baking) from meal prepping today. I also made a cheese tortellini bake for dinner but since I don’t usually eat pasta… it was definitely for the kids.

Yesterday’s lunch random fridge leftovers and a little extra bbq sauce on the cannellini beans.

*cough* meal prep *cough*

Old fashioned oats with blueberries, chocolate almonds and a tsp honey. Had with coffee and half a fairlife chocolate shake in it.

Spent $128US this past week on groceries. It would’ve been less if my coupon for the pumpkins came off and I’d have found a brisket that was smaller. (I only wanted one around 10lbs) Saved around $120US though! With the brisket I’m going to make some corned beef, ground beef, a roast, and marinate some for Korean beef. This time I placed an Amazon fresh order. The caveat with AF is that (at least for me) the minimum order before coupons and deals come off has to be $35 to avoid extra fees so I try to find things I’ll use that have a coupon or discount (hence the chocolate and olive oil) but you really can’t beat $5.54 for 6lbs (2.72kg) of daikon.

Wasn’t feeling the greatest yesterday or this morning so this was my breakfast- miso soup, chai latte, and black tea with lemon juice. The other day though I made danmuji (Korean pickled daikon radish) The daikon is from my grocery shopping this past week that I didn’t share.

Nutritional yeast (adds an aged cheese flavor) chia seed pudding (make with a protein shake to add protein) Ground flax seed (use in oatmeal or make flax crackers ) hemp seeds (also a good source of protein) psyllium husk powder (what benefiber is made from) can be mixed into muffins, pancakes, or crackers. A little goes a long way! Cocoa powder

Made Asian style foods for dinner- teriyaki rice noodles, marinated mushrooms, miso soup, general Tso’s tofu, eomuk with those TikTok diy tteokbokki (they’re ok but I’ll buy the real thing from now on), pomegranate seeds, rice, and cucumber slices.

😂 when it comes to foodstuffs I call it a stockpile. 😂 And with kids it doesn’t always last as long as I’d like!

My advice- get an ekg done by your primary doctor or even urgent care. You heart feeling like it’s thumping out of your chest is called palpitations and could be a sign of something else. Better to be safe than sorry. (This suggestion is bias in that I work with cardiac patients and would rather you be safe.)

I approve of soup for breakfast!

The lentil stew I made for my work lunches this week. 1tbsp oil. 1 onion, 4-6 stalks celery, 2 large carrots 2 yellow bell peppers- all diced. garlic minced (measure with your heart). Cumin, ground coriander, curry powder, ground turmeric, pepper, bay leaf, 2 cups red lentils, 4-6 cups broth. Salt to taste. Add oil to large pot over medium high heat. Add diced veggies and sauté 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes. Add spices and cook another 2 minutes. Add lentils and stir to coat with spices. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 15-20 minutes.

I can’t stand eating the same thing all the time. I just get too bored.

Hunger for most eventually returns but it could be about a year out. Use the time where you aren’t hungry to really focus on staying on your plan to lose the most you can. As for taste I completely get it. After my VSG there was a time the only things I could drink aside from warm liquids was grape Powerade zero. Once you’re into more soft and solid things it be a great time to experiment with spices. They’ll add tons of flavor without adding much in the way of calories. Curried salmon salad and the flavored tuna packets are great soft foods to try.

Y’all, today was a good day! I made a red lentil stew (I’ll post a picture of that when I pack) for my lunches, made the stuffed peppers for tomorrow’s dinner, and made shrimp fajitas for dinner. ….And then I baked… I haven’t baked much since my dad died as it was one of the things that connected me to him. We always talked about new recipes, ones he missed that I’d make him, and just the overall joy of how food brought us closer as people. Then, today, it dawned on me that I’m not doing his memory justice if I stopped doing what I loved which is feeding people. So I did want any (in)sane person would do and made 15 and 1/2 dozen cookies, chocolate filled crescent rolls, and a double batch of chocolate peanut butter fudge. I’ll have excited coworkers for sure.

I bought toddler silverware when I was first post op. It made meals seem easier and I was able to spend more time enjoying it over just a couple of bigger bites. And I agree it’s likely a stall. Just keep going and it’ll get easier as time goes on.

Meals the past week or so. I think I’m gonna give up on the lotus root for a bit as it’s never as soft as I want and the glaze it’s really glaze-y. And those meatball looking things are really squid balls. The sheet pan pancakes have become a staple with various mix-ins (these were pumpkin spice latte ones).