Food Before and After Photos

[ms.sss 14,617]

10 hours ago, Cheeseburgh said:

If I wanted to I could easily overeat and gain right now. I’m 2+ years out. I have to be vigilant and write everything down. I no longer eat when I’m stressed (I lose my appetite) or bored and I plan most of my meals in advance. I do allow myself some junk type foods now, but in very limited quantities and frequency.

I hit two years out a couple weeks ago. And can attest to the ease of gaining weight. I have been gaining and losing the same 4-6 lbs since March. It's quite annoying.

I'm not sure its because the surgery is losing it's effectiveness as much as its really just me eating higher calorie stuff and not being as regular with the exercise. If/when I put effort into my food quality consumption and exercise routine, I can still lose the weight (and I have, like 2-3 times the past 8 months, geez).

I have been averaging closer to 120 more than I've been closer to 115 for months now. This morning I weighed in at 119.8, and while this is still under my red line, I've been hovering near my upper limit for what seems like forever.

I think I'm coming around to the idea that I can accept 120-ish being my maintenance weight, as it takes practically no effort to maintain....but then this means my upper limit moves to 125, and I dunno if I'm comfortable with that. Well, we'll see I guess, I'm currently giving it another go to get (and stay) at 115-ish...but I admit, I'm not trying very hard. My clothes still fit so there isn't much of a motivating factor for me other than the number on the scale.

I realize this may sound ridiculous, that I am fussing over 5-ish lbs that can't really even be seen. I always found it baffling when my slim friends would fuss over 5 lbs. *shrugs*

[ms.sss 14,617]

On a lighter note, I finally got around to dealing with a pumpkin I bought weeks ago. Meant to make a jack-o-lantern for halloween but got lazy (surprise, surprise).

Anyhoo, I ended up making a pumpkin carbonara for the fam (no pic, sorry!..plus I didn't eat any of it anyway) and roasted the seeds with various spices. Pretty tasty.

Ate about 1/4 cup: 134 calories

[ms.sss 14,617]

On a posting spree...

My favourite carnival food hands down is the Corn Dog. I used to be able to eat two giant sized ones slathered in mustard and ketchup.

Tried my hand at them this morning and unfortunately left them cooking for a tad too long so they are a little over-browned 🤨. And I haven't mastered art the dipping of them, hence the deformities, lol.

Nevertheless, still delicious, just like I remember them to be (carbs and all!). Each one was made with 1/2 a hot dog dipped in the cornbread batter with diced crispy bacon mixed in. Had some extra batter left over and made some fritters out of them.

298 calories for one corn dog. I ate 1/2 of one with almost 1 tsp of Dijon mustard (after pic below)

Edited November 13, 2020 by ms.sss

[ms.sss 14,617]

Had a NEED to eat something salad-y after that bit of corn dog and threw this together. Cole slaw from a bag + vinaigrette + 2 oz grilled chicken + 1 oz feta cheese. (Semi-pro tip: I grill a whole bunch of chicken breasts at a time, chop it up and leave in the fridge to top salads for this very reason)

147 calories. Will eat the rest later.

[Cheeseburgh 3,075]

On 11/13/2020 at 9:01 AM, ms.sss said:

I hit two years out a couple weeks ago. And can attest to the ease of gaining weight. I have been gaining and losing the same 4-6 lbs since March. It's quite annoying.

I'm not sure its because the surgery is losing it's effectiveness as much as its really just me eating higher calorie stuff and not being as regular with the exercise. If/when I put effort into my food quality consumption and exercise routine, I can still lose the weight (and I have, like 2-3 times the past 8 months, geez).

I have been averaging closer to 120 more than I've been closer to 115 for months now. This morning I weighed in at 119.8, and while this is still under my red line, I've been hovering near my upper limit for what seems like forever.

I think I'm coming around to the idea that I can accept 120-ish being my maintenance weight, as it takes practically no effort to maintain....but then this means my upper limit moves to 125, and I dunno if I'm comfortable with that. Well, we'll see I guess, I'm currently giving it another go to get (and stay) at 115-ish...but I admit, I'm not trying very hard. My clothes still fit so there isn't much of a motivating factor for me other than the number on the scale.

I realize this may sound ridiculous, that I am fussing over 5-ish lbs that can't really even be seen. I always found it baffling when my slim friends would fuss over 5 lbs. *shrugs*

Why have a 5 pound cushion? Mine is 2-3 pounds. So far I’m not gaining, I did lose a few during the move, however, had zero problems gaining it back once things settled down. I’m not trying hard right now either. My magic number is 126. When I hit that I get serious for a few days, I feel best around 122-124 (which is where I am currently) so far my weight has been relatively consistent. I do worry though, I’m not as busy and my house is a lot smaller so I’m not getting as many steps in. I never factored that into one of the changes that would happen.

I’m trying to think of things to do to keep active while avoiding COVID . The numbers are REALLY BAD in my area with a lot of non compliant people. If it’s nice out, the walking paths and parks are crazy busy. I need to suck it up and find a quieter place to walk and accept that I’ll have to wear a mask while walking instead of making excuses. I think my next hobby might be some kind of woodworking to keep busy since I can’t paint this house. We have a nice size garage and we did build a workbench. I need to have something to do or I know I’ll gain.

On topic. I made the best and easiest shredded chicken tacos last night and forgot to take a picture! I have some leftovers. I’ll try and post later today.

Edited November 14, 2020 by Cheeseburgh

[ms.sss 14,617]

2 hours ago, Cheeseburgh said:

Why have a 5 pound cushion? Mine is 2-3 pounds.

I tried going with a smaller window a long time ago but found that in maintenance that my weight can fluctuate up and down 2-3 lbs from day to day (during weight loss phase it was ounces). One big meal close to bedtime and i’m up 2lbs the next morning. One giant poop after a 3-day backup and I’ll lose 3 lbs.

The bigger window/spread is for my sanity, lol

I also like to do averages over time for the same reason.

Woodworking sounds fun...have u run out of things to restore?

[ms.sss 14,617]

Almost-Keto Apple Fritters

Adapted from an Actual-Keto Apple Fritter recipe (I didn’t have any “vital wheat gluten”... whatever that is! So i used 1/8 cup wheat flour + 1/8 cup psyllium instead. Also, I skipped the glaze and used cinnamon and granulated Monkfruit instead; as well as added baking powder)

These things turned out MASSIVE (miscalculation on my part) and just one is the size of BOTH my hands! A regular serving should probably be less than half this size.

161 calories for each ginormous fritter (11g fat, 19g net carbs).

Ate 1/4 of one, and the fam wolfed down the rest of them before they even cooled down (shhhh...don’t tell them there wasn’t any actual sugar in them!)

Edited November 14, 2020 by ms.sss

[GreenTealael 24,847]

On 11/13/2020 at 9:24 AM, ms.sss said:

I see you are the littlest in your fam, too ❤️

My kids are VERY thin but wear lots of layers so I only look the same size or smaller

The girls are a good 40-50 lbs less than me, my son may be close to my weight but what's really concerning is they are or will be taller than me quite soon so we look like a group of friends 😂

[Koko.G 13]

On 11/13/2019 at 8:23 PM, MarvelGirl25 said:

Tonight’s dinner: Greek salad with grilled chicken. Did black olives instead of kalamata. chicken came out super good since I had it marinating overnight. Im slowly incorporating raw veggies into my diet. I’m still scared to make it a daily thing this soon in.

Would you mind sharing your recipe? It looks delicious!

[Koko.G 13]

On 1/22/2020 at 9:38 AM, MarvelGirl25 said:

Gochujang chicken lettuce wraps again. Gochujang burns fast so cooking it on the stove yesterday was a pain. Today I decided to try cooking it with the ninja foodi and OMGGGGG sooo good! What a difference! The marinade stuck to the chicken well without burning and the chicken held it’s juice. I think I’m going to be eating this the rest of the week. Tasted just like the spicy chicken thighs from Korean bbq 🍖

Now all I’m missing is some kimchi...

That chicken looks amazing, all of your dishes do lol!

[ms.sss 14,617]

Gentle reminder that just because something is Keto, doesn't mean it may be something one would want add to one's diet when in weight loss phase.

Case in point: Keto Sans Rival Cake (cashew meringue layered with french buttercream and chopped cashews). I just free-handed the meringue layers so they look kinda wonky. Next time I'll use a form or pan, or maybe a piping bag...

My slice pictured below, and even with using a zero-calorie sweetener, it still measured out at 205 calories (about the size of small-ish lime).

Ate it all.

Edited November 15, 2020 by ms.sss

[Bwa 24]

The first pic is from before surgery: a turkey burger on a bun, with fettucine noodles in cheesy cream sauce. The second pic is from after surgery: ground pork taco meat with a little shredded cotija cheese and sour cream. It was probably about 1/4 cup of meat; the perspective is a little and it looks like more than there actually was. I find that ground meats sit better in my stomach than whole cuts.  

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

[Cheeseburgh 3,075]

It’s cold, sleety and windy today. Beef stew was the perfect dinner and the house smells great! Was only 325 calories to boot.

[Grace55 16]

The foods are so aesthetically perfect, they could be commercials. No doubt they are as delicious as they look! I applaud the Chefs, you guys are incredibly talented!

[Sophie7713 3,238]

On 11/14/2020 at 12:48 PM, ms.sss said:

I tried going with a smaller window a long time ago but found that in maintenance that my weight can fluctuate up and down 2-3 lbs from day to day (during weight loss phase it was ounces). One big meal close to bedtime and i’m up 2lbs the next morning. One giant poop after a 3-day backup and I’ll lose 3 lbs.

The bigger window/spread is for my sanity, lol

I also like to do averages over time for the same reason.

Woodworking sounds fun...have u run out of things to restore?

I'm very much like you in regards to weight fluctuation and maintenance. I Celebrate 2 years out next month. I can settle at 113 up to 118 pounds depending upon bowel movements, Water intake, exercise and just daily normal movement or lack thereof. I've noticed if I eat out even ordering healthy choices, and asking they leave of excess salt, fat or sugar - you know there is still hidden ingredients that will show up on the scale. I also note if I do not drink 80 oz. or over per day or forget a Vitamin - I'll fluctuate. I do not count calories, but keep a daily log of three meals a day. I don't snack. I weigh every morning to monitor not out of obsession, but to remain vigilant of any drastic changes or upward spikes. I enlist intermittent fasting, and always feel great after doing so. It is interesting to read here that after 2 - 3 years out can become problematic? Oh boy. I think I'd prefer the honeymoon last forever. Haha!