What's on the menu today, RNYers?

Hi OH friends - it's the dawn of a gorgeous holiday weekend here in DC!  I will be poolside (gulp) this weekend - funny how I am significantly smaller than last year but rather self-conscious about the saggy thighs and arms I am lugging around :)  I just keep in mind how much stronger and healthier I am and it makes it all ok!

Another awesome day of participation on this post yesterday!  I can't tell you how much I enjoy this forum and post.  You guys give me such good ideas and inspiration.  And a big part of it is the accountability.  So I owe you all a big THANKS!

Time Since Surgery: 5 months, one week

B: In the interest of increasing carbs and calories, I had a piece of paleo banana bread that a friend baked me, with a dab of butter.  It's made with walnuts and almond flour (no white flour).  It felt WEIRD to be eating something like a bread (I haven't had a bite of bread, chip, cracker, etc since surgery) but the piece has 125 calories, 6 g of fat, 13 g carbs, 4 g protein.  It tasted great.  Here is a recipe that looks pretty similar to what my friend told me she made:  Paleo Banana Bread

S: I am going to have a mint cookie shake before the gym at noon

L: Leftovers (per usual) - shrimp and shirataki noodles with pesto after my workout

D: I am going to "rice" two heads of cauliflower this afternoon.  One I will bag up (raw, and riced) and freeze, so when I do feel like making cauliflower pizza, I can.  One I will divide in half and one half is going to be an attempt at mashed cauliflower with garlic (you don't rice this half - you steam or microwave the florets and then mash them with garlic and spices and a tbsp of cream cheese and a pinch of parmesan cheese).  The other, I am using for dinner as "fried cauliflower rice".  You basically grind it up, then throw it in a pan with some olive oil and let it "fry" - I am going to add firm cubed tofu and some Trader Joe's Thai Green Curry sauce from a jar.  Hoping it's good!

E: 30 minutes treadmill and 50 minutes personal training 

V: On it now

W: No problem

Totals for the day are 700 calories, 61 g protein 36 g carbs (twice my normal carbs - scary!).  If I can get another snack in, I will have 2 oz of boar's head deli turkey.  That would bring me to 75 g of protein.

What's on your menu today?  Have a GREAT long weekend, everyone (except you, Daisy - yours was last weekend!  Very cognizant and thrilled that this post spans other countries!)

Em I too look forward to this post every day and feel like you guys are an amazing group of people who get me and can relate. I'm from a small town and didn't know anyone who had had any until I did except those I met in my doctors support group. I am about 11/2 hours away from my doctor so don't always make it to group but you guys help me to be accountable each and every day. Thank you all!! Beautiful day here today and Lily and I have already done our walk of 21/2 miles. It's so much more fun to walk with her than on the treadmill and it's really helping us to bond and help her trust me to keep her safe. It makes me sad to see her so afraid of people and I am thankful for the chance to show her that people can be good and fun too. I will do the bike for 20 minutes too at some point and 200 crunches before bed. Post op 21 months and at a 121.2 today. B 1/2 c steel cut oats with nuts and 1/2 banana with peanut butter L not sure I will be in St Louis and will find some sort of protein to eat somewhere S not sure if I will eat one depending on when and what lunch is D 31/2 oz fish and 1/2 c sweet potatoes S 3/4 c Greek yogurt with nuts. Working on 30 Oz's of fluids now and morning vitamins done. Got a busy weekend as my oldest son and girlfriend will be here Saturday and Sunday and we are having a graduation party Sunday for him at my mother in laws house. We are doing a shrimp boil and I can't wait as some family hasn't seen me for quite some time and will be surprised I am sure. Have a great weekend everyone!

Karen, Lily must be loving her new life! Walkies and a person who loves her, what more could a doggy want?

When you get to St. Louis, just wave toward the west. I'll see you from out here in suburbia and wave back. 

Enjoy the party Sunday, and congratulations on your son's graduation!

I was in the same boat, Karen!  I knew no one who had had WLS (well a cousin ended up getting lap band about two months before my surgery).  My support group is sadly, not very valuable, so this is my support :)  My non-WLS friends do not understand (nor likely want to hear about) saggy skin, constipation, the fear of increasing to 800 calories a day, etc.  This place is full of people who GET IT.  I am so grateful as well!

Morning, Em! As usual you beat me here, I'm just not that much of a morning person when I don't have to be. That will have to change once I start working again, of course, but in the meantime I'm going to enjoy sleeping in a bit.

I buckled under the pressure (totally self-inflicted!) and made cauliflower pizza last night. It was yumtastic! I even had the husbeast stop on the way home to pick up a cauliflower so I could make it. I had so much fun using my pizza stone and pizza peel as well, since I thought I wouldn't be able to use them for quite a while yet. The pizza came out really, really tasty. The acid test: even the husbeast liked it! I think I need to spread the crust out a little bit more to get it crispier, but overall it definitely satisfied the pizza craving. And one slice was more than enough. Of course, while I was prepping it I was munching on raw cauliflower, so I might have had room for two slices if I hadn't been doing that. I liked it so much I started thinking about ways to streamline the process, since it is a bit labor intensive. I came up with the same thing you did: Pre-rice the cauliflower, bag it and freeze it. So next time I'll look for a cauliflower about the size of my head, which should make about three recipes worth. Oh, and next time I'm definitely going to throw some turkey pepperoni on the pizza when I bake it. Thanks so much for the recommendation!

Nothing much planned for today except for maybe a shopping trip. While I'm enjoying shopping for clothes now it's still hard for me to get motivated enough to go. Too many years of having a horrible time finding nice clothes has left me still hesitant to set foot in a clothing store. But with my personal shopping cheerleader's help (looking at you, Dcgirl!) I'm sure I'll manage somehow.  Also need to catch up on some emails, and definitely have a trip to the gym scheduled. I'm waiting for a little more before I start a load of wash with my gym clothes since my hubby had a particularly slow morning and took a 45 minute shower. I don't know how the man does it, I would look like a prune if I spent that much time under hot running water! So once the water heater catches up, in go the clothes and then I'll be good to go.

I started taking Miralax this morning since I finally figured out a way to get it down. An eight ounce glass of water, capful of Miralax and a tablespoon of orange juice for flavor. Worked like a charm, I got it down in two chugs and now will incorporate that into my breakfasts from now on.

Today's plan, at a little more than five months out from surgery: Supplements - just finished the morning batch, alarms set for the res****er - 50 ounces down the hatch so far, will get the rest in (total of about 120 ounces) no problem. Exercise - Strength training today, so I'll hit the gym for that and do 30 minutes or more of cardio on my treadmill later today. Food - 

Hope everyone has a wonderful day, and if you're in the US enjoy the holiday weekend!

PAM! I know, right?!? Isn't the cauliflower pizza divine? It's really not that hard, but yes, I am all in favor of doing multiple cauliflower heads at once. I also will aim to make it thinner and crispier, but even non-crispy it was really freaking delicious.  I am so glad you liked it!  I also add tons of spice to the cauliflower/egg/cheese mixture.  I am devoting some (slacking from work) time this afternoon to make some more. I promised my trainer I would bring him in one as a sample tomorrow.

I am cracking up that your husbeast takes such a long shower!  I don't think I could take that long of a shower!  That's a good part of living in a condo building - unlimited water!  Well, I have never run out of ho****er.  Well, I have never showered for 45 minutes so scratch that!

Working out sure adds a ton to the laundry basket, eh?  All the money I save on not buying crappy food and alcohol is spent on workout clothes, new (smaller) clothes, protein powder, expensive proteins like sashimi, etc.  LOL!

Have an awesome weekend grilling out and relaxing :)

The only thing about the pizza that I'd change is to add more spices to the crust, so I get what you're saying about that. It was just a teensy bit bland with the recommended amount of spices added.

My hubby and his showers...oh, boy. That's been a (minor) bone of contention with us! I've peeked in on him while he's in there, most of the time he's just standing in the shower stall with his head against the back wall while the water beats down on him. I've tried to get him to cut down a bit, as being so wasteful with water really irks me, but he's adamant: He can't wake up without his long shower. So, between 30 and 45 minutes a day. When we replaced our ho****er heater a couple of years ago I wanted to get an on-demand heater; I'd had one in Houston and loved it. But the plumber recommended against it, apparently here the water starts out too cold in the winter for an on-demand heater to be really effective. So instead we have one of the largest home models of water heater you can get, thanks to Mark and his showers!

And yes, the laundry has really increased since starting an exercise program. Luckily it's not stuff that matters much if it's not perfectly wrinkle-free, so I don't have to race to the dryer or worry about folding/hanging things up well. (Why yes, I am a lazy housekeeper, why do you ask? )

You have fun hanging out at the pool this weekend!

Hi Everyone: DCgirl, my legs are a MESS!  I ordered a beautiful sarong so that I can walk around the pool and not be so self-conscious of my legs.  I will remove it when I go into the water and just slip it back on when I'm done.  Have a great weekend everyone!

I'm 8 months out

B:  Plain greek yogurt, ground flax seed, blueberries and a sprinkle of granola

S:  Syntrax Mint Cookie Shake

L:  Turkey and cheese roll up, 1/2 banana

D:  Not sure, going out for our group dinner to a new place.  Looked at the menu...possibly scallops or shrimp

V & W:  On target

E:  30 min on treadmill, 30 min. weight training

Hey Yankeescl - good call on the sarong!  I realized I have jeans, I have other pants/capris for work, and I have a few dresses but what the hell will I wear over my bathing suit to the pool?  Looks like I should walk up to Target later on today!  Enjoy your dinner out tonight - I love shrimp pretty much any way they are prepared!  Yum!

Hi yankeescl! As a transplanted Yankee myself (grew up and spent most of my life in Connecticut before being dragged, kicking and screaming, to Texas) I'm curious if you'll share where you're from?

Your breakfast reminds me that I want to pick up some ground flaxseed. Do you use a particular brand?

Good to see you posting here!