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Wow, long time, no blog.

Exciting things:

I managed to lose weight in December (a Christmas Miracle!)

I got a really cute fitted black skirt in a size 14 that fits perfectly - haven't seen 14s since high school!

I was not recognized by several old friends that I only see at Christmastime - I love the double-take when people realize who I am!

I started working out at a gym... and I LOOOOVE it!  I love feeling my body work and sweat!  and cute workout clothes DO make a lot of difference, lol!  and I can do 45+ minutes on the treadmill at a pretty speedy pace and not feel like I want to DIE!

The vast majority of the time, I get in as much protein and fluids as I am supposed to.

I still like desserts, but I can always (so far, anyways!) stop after just a few bites.

I'm becoming addicted to high heels - just adds to the longer, leaner look

My hunnybun is now trying to lose weight too - he's doing Weight Watchers, so far so good.

Onederland is now in sight - only 17lbs to go for that, 37lbs to my doc's goal.  Far out...

Far out - Although the losing has slowed down, 116 is nothing to sneeze at!  I have 41lbs to go to make it to my doc's goal for me - I'm hoping to be there by my "surgiversary" in April.  A new gym is opening 5 minutes from my house - I'm already signed up and ready to go when it opens 12/29.  That is my biggest do-over wish for this surgery - I wish I had made myself exercise all this time - I could have been much farther along.  Oh well, can't change the past, but I CAN do something about the future!

So, major accomplishments:
I can cross my legs, and I actually like to!
I can shop at "regular" stores
I weigh considerably less than my husband (although he's working on losing too!)
I can wear high heels - and do pretty regularly
I can shop at Victoria's Secret - yippee!
I can wear these 2 marvelous leather jackets that I haven't worn since high school - thank goodness my mom's a packrat!
I fit comfortably into any chair, anywhere
I can stand and walk for a long long time
People who have not seen me in awhile don't recognize me

I've had some weird emotional stuff to deal with lately, but I'm getting a handle on it, finally.  I generally do well with my food, although I do have regular moments of, oh crud, why did I eat that???

Some recipes: 
White Chicken Chili

I've been totally addicted to this chili since my surgery - I usually make it at some point over the weekend, then take it to work with me for a few days.

1 can (or 2 cups) chicken broth or stock
1 can EACH of pinto and great northern beans (I like Bush's)
1 lb finely chopped chicken (see note)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon Santa Fe seasoning (I use McCormick's)
1 tsp chili powder
2 tablespoons hot taco sauce (Taco Bell's is my favorite!) or salsa
1 cup shredded cheese, I usually use this mix called Casserole cheese - has American, cheddar, monterey jack and colby, I think!
Garnishes - see note

In a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed pot, combine the broth, drained & rinsed beans, chicken, soup and seasonings.  Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer, uncovered, at least 30 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.  Add some water or more broth if needed to keep right consistency.  Just before serving, add the taco sauce and half of the cheese - stir to melt and combine.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of cheese and whatever else appeals.

NOTES:  when using raw chicken, I usually gently sautee it in the same pan for a minute or 2 before adding the other ingredients.  I've also used leftover pork (roast, chops, etc.) and once some pot roast - it's all good.

Different friends have added all kinds of stuff - one uses a frozen peppers and onions blend, I've occasionally added a few finely diced chiles, finely shredded carrots, corn, cilantro - it's all good.  Another friend does 4 oz of cream cheese instead of the cream of chicken soup.

Garnishes could include cilantro, a squeeze of lime, chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream.

When I make this to share with my family, I usually make some brown rice on the side and serve everyone else their chili over the rice - helps it to go a little farther, and leaves more leftovers for me!  I also usually serve cornbread (for everyone else!) and fruit salad.  I've also served this as a dip with tortilla chips.

A batch of the basic recipe above gives me 4-5 servings easily.

Peanut Butter Shake - tastes like a real milkshake!
1 packet no sugar added french vanilla Carntaion Instant Breakfast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup ice cubes
1-2 tablespoons peanut butter (I use Smucker's natural - only ingredients are peanuts and salt!)
Combine and whirl in a blender or Magic Bullet

Egg Salad Spread
1 hard boiled egg
1 tsp ranch or dill dip
1 tablespoon cream cheese (I like Philly's new cracker spreads)
1 tsp or so of milk
I usually just mash this all together with a fork, although early post-op, I put it in a mini food processor

Low Added Sugar Apple Crisp
4 cups very thinly sliced sweet apples (such as Golden Delicious)
1 tablespoon frozen apple juice concentrate
1 tablespoon no sugar added apple butter (optional)
cinnamon to taste
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup nuts, pecans or walnuts (optional)
cinnamon to taste

Combine apples, juice concentrate, apple butter and cinnamon in a small, shallow casserole dish.  Sprinkle with a tablespoon or 2 of water.  Combine butter, flour, sugar, oats, nuts, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of water.  Sprinkle oat mixture over apples.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until apples are tender.  This recipe makes 4 servings for me.  And yes, I know we should avoid carbs and sugar, but if I'm desperate, this is at least a teeny bit healthy!

sorry for the misleading headline, but one of my dear friends weighs 100lbs, and, as of today, that's how much weight I've lost since I started this whole process a year ago!  Far, far out...  After the stall through August & September, thought maybe I was just doomed to have this be a slower process for me than for others.  Well, the stall ended a little over a week ago & I've been losing like crazy!  YIPPEEE!

Now, I'm coping with sagginess - thighs, boobs, arms and especially belly - bleh.  Am starting to look forward to plastics, whereas before, I was kind of on the fence about it.

So, according to the chart, my BMI is now 47, which takes me out of the "super morbidly obese" category and on to merely "morbidly obese."  A strange thing to cheer about, but, hey, every little victory counts!

I'm also down at least 2, sometimes 3 sizes, although I'm still mostly losing everywhere except my belly!  A tummy tuck is looking more and more likely at this point (sigh).  My natural tendency is to horde my excess weight all around my middle.  My legs and butt can fit into a size 18 with ease, but I still need a 22 to go around.

I eat around 900 calories per day, and I plan to be much more diligent about exercise once my kids go back to school next week.

And yea!  My friend Carmel gave me some tips for posting a picture!  Thanks Carmel!

So, I was thinking that the weight loss was seeming slow lately, but I've lost 13lbs over the last month, so that's not quite as bad as I originally thought.  With our crazy lives lately, it's been hard to get in as much exercise as I know I should.  Hopefully, with school starting for my kids in a few weeks, we'll get back on a better schedule.

My pants all fit funny - I've lost a bunch of weight in my butt and legs, but it's still stubbornly clinging to my belly.  So, all my pants look like those huge parachute pants that were popular for about a week almost 20 years ago!

In general, I'm surprised how much better I feel - not so easily tired, etc.  My tummy is still very particular about what goes into it - texture is a huge thing for me - but I'm starting to be able to tolerate more and more things.  I'm still hardly ever hungry, and when I am, I fill up very quickly.   i have a bunch of different ways to assemble meat and beans, because chili in its various forms is one thing that seems to sit well for me and meets the protein requirements!

My friend Gina had an interesting post in her blog about hunger levels - now that I'm hardly ever hungry, I don't think about food very much, if anything, I have to force myself to eat.  Maybe there's just something in my physical makeup that made me more hungry than other people, and now that the grehlin hormone is so reduced, and I'm physically unable to eat much, it's not such a thing with me.  I used to think about food, particularly sweets, all the time, and now, I just don't.  I do still want a brownie - REALLY bad! - but just a bite or 2 would be enough.  I don't feel like it was obsession or whatever - I think I thought about food so much because I was so hungry all the time!  Anyhoo, food for thought !   teehee 

hmmm, so this is good, but I still wish that, given the ENORMOUS changes in my life from the surgery, I wish it were going faster!  Especially while I was recently in Florida - hardly any place we went had food I could tolerate.  I had grouchy pouchy almost all of the time - nothing tasted good, I had a hard time keeping anything down, I was so hot and sweaty that I ended up with a kidney stone from the lack of H2O and potassium.

That said, however, I did have a few good moments - I no longer need a seatbelt extender and I fit comfortably in an airline seat!  I got to wear some really cute clothes that have not seen the light of day in almost 10 years!  And, last year when my family and I went to an amusement park for a single day, I had to have a motor scooter thing because my back ached so badly - this time, we went to 3 parks, and although my feet were sore, the rest of me is fine!  Quite a change from last summer!

So now I have a bathing suit I want to fit into by the end of summer - it's a size smaller than anything I've worn in the last 15+ years.  It will go on now, but not comfortably!  I can dream...

OK, I'm happy about that, but I wanted to be one of those who lost 2lbs a day, every day!  I have lost 2lbs in a day, but it's for sure not every day, and I've had more days where I've stayed the same.  I don't want to wish my life away, but I wish I could have an idea of what my results will be a year from now.  I go on vacation in 2 weeks, and it's a bit daunting to think about what foods I can have, and how difficult it may be to have to find something at restaurants for practically every meal.  I feel weird packing a lot of food, but I may have to to make sure I have everything I need.

I have mixed feelings about the Inferior Vena Cava filter - it didn't catch anything, for which I'm grateful.  However, it means I had a painful, inconvenient, EXPENSIVE procedure (about $20,000 - thank goodness for insurance!) for nothing.  It was removed through my jugular, that big vein in the neck, yesterday.  This whole process has seemed worse than my RNY!   I'm so sore today - I feel like the tendons in my neck are injured, it hurts to swallow or move my head from side to side, even just getting up from a chair hurts.  I know, I'm being a big baby.  I am extrememly grateful that this was, Lord willing!, my last surgical procedure related to all of this!  I had been pretty firm that I would seek some minor plastic surgery once I'd lost the weight I want to, but right now, that sounds incredibly unlikely!  I've really had an overall good experience, no complications, etc., but I don't want to go to the hospital for anything ever again!

OK, I've finally lost another 5lbs in the last week, for a grand total of 30lbs in the month since my surgery (35 since I started the liquid diet phase) - yea!  My only complaint is the muscle in the middle of my belly is still sore - not ridiculously, but enough so that it bothers me.  In talking to a nurse, it's probably just a trying to do too much too soon thing, typical of a mom.  So, explained to the family that I'll need some more of their help over the next few days to get this healed too.  Otherwise, I feel really good!  My last surgical hurdle, Lord willing! will be having the IVC filter removed on Friday.  The insertion of the thing before my surgery was my least favorite thing so far, so I'm hoping the removal will be less painful.