Monday, October 31, 2011

Low carb menu and a special birthday wish

Low carb menu
- Two pieces of pumpkin bake
- Two pieces of chicken breast, pan fried and battered with pork rinds, dipped in low carb honey mustard
- Six jalapeno poppers
- Sloppy joe meat with pork rinds


Happy birthday to Oct!

Be sure to bump over to Octracia's blog and wish her a beary Happy Birthday! She is smart, funny, hard-working, adorable, friendly and a low carber and today is her birthday!! What more could you possibly ask for?

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Low carb menu and my supportive love

- Zucchini lasagna
- Half of a piece of a jerky stick from grocery store checklane
- Pork rinds with ranch dip
- One and a half pieces of zucchini lasagna with Parmesan cheese

Nancy, I use this low carb lasagna recipe only I take Linda's suggestion and add an extra can of tomato sauce. Furthermore, I use half ground beef and half sausage. It's really REALLY good and you are going to love it if you feed it to the family! I noticed that Harry over at Healthy Fellow also put up a yummy-looking lasagna recipe, so be sure to check that out.

Waffle makers were on sale at Aldi last week, so we got one yesterday! I'm excited about it. At first, my gf was skeptical about whether we needed one or not, but once she heard about there being LOW CARB WAFFLES available, she was all about it! She is really SO supportive about my eating needs and it had made all the difference. I have written on here before about having a non-supportive ex who was constantly bringing junk in the house, and while that IS the real world, it really does help to be living with somebody who is on the same page as me and cares about my health journey.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Menu

- Zucchini lasagna
- Piece of chicken breast, breaded with pork rinds dipped in low carb honey mustard
- Chinese buffet

We took my mom out for dinner at the Chinese buffet and I decided to have a deviation. The cause for celebration is her being done with chemo! Radiation starts soon. I ate way too much. I felt like crap. I still feel kind of like I have a hangover from all the nasty food I ingested. It made me think, "Wow, I used to eat like this all the time... No wonder I never had any energy."

Dear body,
We are back to low carb foods til Thanksgiving... don't worry!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Low carb menu and surgery update

- Low carb zucchini lasagna
- Four jalapeno poppers
- Chicken breast, pan fried and battered pork rinds with home made honey mustard

My gf has been taking me across the street at nights to wheel around in my wheelchair in the big community college parking lot. It's huge, has tons of emergency phones and with me wheeling myself around the whole time, it's quite a workout. I was shocked last night at how much of a core workout it was, but we went for about thirty minutes. At the end, my endorphins were through the roof. It was actually really fun!

I'm missing the ease of working out by taking walks and such, but honestly, before surgery, I was in so much pain due to the how screwed up my knee was that I was not able to enjoy exercise as much as I will be able to.

So, I go back to the doctor on November 2nd and he is going to zap some x-rays to see where my progress is. Ideally, I will have enough new bone growth where they did the osteotomy of my femur that I will be able to start to bear weight on my leg. Keep your fingers crossed! It's been over two months since surgery, but he says that it usually takes three good months before people are able to walk around like normal. What hurts worse than my knee now is my hip, my iliac crest, where they took out a wedge of bone to put into my femur. He says that it's common for that to hurt like that.

I have another surgery coming up after I'm recouped from this one... on my lower leg bone just below my knee. It's going to be basically the same procedure, sawing out a wedge of bone and inserting new bone from my hip, so a long recovery as well. This time, though, I know more of what to expect and I'm better equipped at getting around and knowing what I can and cannot do. The first few weeks after surgery are the worst, but I will get through it and be much more able-bodied after this surgery is complete.

My doctor told me that I'm really making this surgery change my life, which is true. I've lost twenty pounds since I went under the knife plus I have quit smoking completely. They had to give me a steroid lung treatment before surgery because my lungs were so rattly that it really made me want to put down the lighter forever and I did! That was a huge wake-up call.

So, I'm still in my wheelchair for now, but look out world, not for long!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Low carb menu

- Chicken salad
- Five bacon stuffed deviled eggs
- Pumpkin bake
- Two thin chicken breast pieces, deep fried and battered in pork rinds... then baked with low carb honey mustard

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

New progress pics - down 106 pounds










Low carb menu

- Pork rinds with French onion dip
- Chicken salad
- Two hot dogs on an oopsie roll with mustard and low carb ketchup
- Six jalapeno poppers

Got up all early this morning and feeling excited about life...

Shezug, I still can't see your videos that you added on youtube... :(

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Welcome to ONEderland and low carb menu

- Chicken salad
- Deviled egg
- Hot dog sandwich with mayo, mustard and low carb ketchup on an oopsie
- Cheesecake brownie (low carb)

I weighed in this morning at 199.6! I still am kind of in shock over the whole ordeal, but I'm definitely excited.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Low carb menu and get together with the family

Saturday's low carb fare:
- Two sausage patties
- Tuna casserole with low carb bbq sauce
- A few bites of low carb chicken salad that I sampled while I made it
- Nachos made with plain pork rinds, taco meat, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and natural salsa

Sunday's low carb menu:
- Chicken salad lettuce wraps with tomato
- Assorted cheese chunks with ring bologna and a chicken wing with the breading taken off
- Deviled eggs with pot roast with onions and ketchup
- Two low carb cheesecake brownies (recipe to come)

We all got together at my mom's house to help her with the yard. She served up a huge dinner and I was proud of myself for staying low-carb. It was nice to see my brothers and it's quite rare for the four of us kids to get together (me and my three older brothers). My gf and my brother's wifey also came to help rake. I was in my walker since my knee is still non-weight-bearing and I was basically the cheerleader. Even though I can't bear weight on my knee, I can still kick my hand with that leg now, so that is something. Something tells me my surgeon would kick my butt if he saw me do this, however...

I go back to see him on the second and I'm hoping that the x-ray shows enough new bone growth to start prancing around again....

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Low carb menu

- Three tuna patties
- Meat sauce over two oopsie rolls with cheese and Parmesan cheese
- Pork rinds with French onion dip
- Pistachios
- Deep fried zucchini

Friday, October 21, 2011

Low carb menu & flipping the closet

- Meat sauce over half an oopsie with sharp cheddar and Parmesan
- Pork rinds with French onion dip
- Pork bbq with low carb bbq sauce
- Cheesecake brownie (my own low carb recipe that is super yummy and quite low carb)
- Two hot dogs with onions/tomato/mustard/low carb ketchup on an oopsie roll

We went to Goodwill the other day and we found an awesome one! We went to the one in the nicer part of town and wow, what a difference that made! I found a Wilson's leather jacket for $19.99, size women's XL and it fits great. I also found three sweaters, all size Women's Large. I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty much in that size when nearly everything fits that is a size large.

I sew, so I know that the difference between sizes such as small, medium and large are only one inch all around the pattern, where as the 1x, 2x and 3x all have two inches around the pattern that are bigger. So going from an XL to a large takes less of a difference than going from 2x to a 1x, say. This Goodwill also had a huge selection in the 3x department! I can't believe that a 3x used to be tight on me (in women's) and I was really convinved that they were made small. Oh, the tricks that our mind can play on us, I tell you! I thought they were "short," when in reality, my stomach was just too big. Granted, I am 5'10,'' but I never really require talls except for pants. I'm mostly just leggy with a 36'' inseam for my legs.

I have a slew of clothes to put up on e-bay, so it should be fun to watch the auctions. I have everything from Lane Bryant dresses that I hardly wore, a really cute bathing suit, tons of tops and I think that is about it. I've been donating the stuff that is not in super-good shape but still totally doable for Goodwill.

Goodwill is totally the way to go! Their sweaters are $5 each, but with my 20% off coupon that you get when you make a donation, that is only $4 each. I scored my leather jacket for $16 this way and it's just gorgeous. The sweaters are all name-brand and quite cute, too. Angie even found some awesome men's sweaters that are just too adorable and a Columbia coat that is super nice. I can't wait to go back to Goodwill for more deals. I hardly have anything in my closet that fits. I do have a ton of long sleeve tops (courtesy of Old Navy), but nothing really substantial to put over the tops like sweaters or sweatshirts. I'm not complaining, I love having that problem, but filling my closet with Goodwill clothes is way more budget-friendly than going to the mall or whatever. Plus, if you go to an organized one, they organize it by size and stuff, so they have a whole rack of just women's size larges for me to flip through... from my wheelchair, of course!

I'm still kind of shocked at how people treat me in the wheelchair. The other day at Walmart, this manager asked me specifically to go to another line that she was about to open and I was about the third in line. It may have been a pity thing, but hey, I will take the perks that this wheelchair can give me! The lady in front of me kind of gave me a look or was about to be upset til she saw me in the motorized cart, then I think her attitude changed. Hey, Walmart checkouts can be brutal so I will take what I can get, lol.

Back to the closet thing... I donated fifteen boxes of clothes to my local Goodwill when I first started my weight loss journey, which were size 24's, size 26/28 tops and that sort of thing. Several still had the tags on them! I was at a stage of my life where I didn't want to mess with the ebay thing... I just wanted, needed to get RID of them. Plus, a box of size 26/28 fills up quicker than a box of size XL's, so it was less clothes than you might think. I think it's an important part of losing weight... only having in your closet what fits you now. Looking through your closet is a direct reflection of how you feel about yourself (at least for me) and it helps me tremendously to think about me as being smaller. Angie handed me a size 2x (18/20) top from my other closet.

She said, "This will probably be way too big for you, but here you go." The sweater was an adorable cable-knit orange that I got from Goodwill a couple years ago and I remember how cute it looked on me. Looking at the sweater on the hanger, I knew it would fit. In fact, that was the reason it was not in my to-sell pile for ebay! I tried it on and wow, she was right. My body was not stretching it out at all and it felt big and floppy on me... not even warm and cuddly like a sweater should be.

I used to just donate clothes that I thought would never fit me, but now, I donate and sell clothes that are too big for me. I think that it's much healthier to only keep clothes that fit and get rid of the others. If they are too big, it's almost like telling yourself that you will be in that size again. If they are too small (besides maybe the occasional goal piece of clothing, which works for some people but not me), then it makes me feel like I'm not good enough at my current size. Each time I see the too-small item, it kind of slaps me in the face with a "you're too big" attitude.

Keeping clothes that fit me in my closet has really changed my life. My step-mom is the worst about this. She has clothes from when she was literally sixteen years old and she is now in her forties! No joke! She also has a slew of sizes, and quite frankly, it's just a lot to move around if you ask me. I'm finally embracing that less is more as far as belongings go, but if you ask my brothers that helped me move, they would tell you a different story!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Low carb menu, stress at work and weigh-in

- Two open-face oopsies with hamburger/sausage meat sauce with sharp white cheddar cheese on top
- Pork bbq with pork rinds
- Pork rinds with French onion dip
- Half a piece of pumpkin bake

Guess what... I'm down to 200.8! Down from 306.4! I actually started this year at 280 point-something on January first, so I consider this a great success. What have I been doing? Just stringing some good low carb days together and listening to my body as to when I need to eat and knowing when I'm satisfied.

I work from home and I have a couple accounts that are amazing and a couple that are not-so-amazing and have literally been taking advantage of me by not paying me on time. I've been standing up for myself more than I would have in the past because I realize that we make our own existence in this world. I'm choosing to get more work for the companies that do treat me right by respecting my time and energy by actually paying me. When you do work online, trust is all you have with these business owners because literally, you never meet them. Oh, the wild world of being an independent contractor that works from home! Never a dull moment, I tell you...

Measurement time!

Neck - 14.5 inches (2.5 inches gone)
Bicep - 14.5 inches (5.5 inches gone)
Forearm - 9.75 inches (1.75 inches gone)
Chest - 41 inches (12 inches gone)
Waist - 39 inches (13 inches gone)
Hips - 45 inches (11 inches gone)
Thigh - 24 (4.5 inches gone)
Calf - 15.25 (2.75 inches gone)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Low carb menu

- Cheesy tuna casserole with low carb ketchup
- Two hot dogs with diced onions, mustard and low carb ketchup on an oopsie roll
- A few bites of pumpkin bake
- Pork rinds with French onion dip
- Pork bbq with half an oopsie roll
- Low carb cheesecake brownie

Low carb menu and new video

- Two hot dogs with tomato, onions, mustard and mayo on an oopsie roll
- Pumpkin bake
- Half of a grilled ham and cheddar on an oopsie with home made honey mustard
- Pork with low carb bbq sauce





Monday, October 17, 2011

Low carb menu and pictures


The pug helping Angie with her math!




Me taking some self-pics before Homecoming game.



Angie with Marvin and Daisy at the Lake Michigan dog park back in June.

- Two tuna patties
- A few bites of un-potato salad
- Rotisserie chicken leg
- Tuna casserole
- Zucchini, pan-fried and coated with egg and Parmesan cheese dipped in low carb honey mustard
- Half of a ham and cheddar sandwich, on an oopsie roll and grilled with butter with a tomato slice

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Low carb menu

- Zucchini taco with the works
- Two sausage patties with scrambled eggs
- Pumpkin bake
- Two tuna patties
- Pork rinds with french onion dip

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Low carb menu

- Zucchini taco shell, plain
- Pumpkin bake
- Two tuna patties
- Half pound burger with onions, tomato, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup on an oopsie
- Two tuna patties
- Four popcorn kernels
- Unpotato salad
- Pumpkin bake

We went to my little sister's homecoming game and we got completely drenched! We didn't stay for long because the rain was absolutely miserable and sooo cold.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Low carb menu

- Two sausage patties and two scrambled eggs, over-medium
- Half pound burger with onions, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup on an oopsie roll
- Unpotato salad
- Quarter cup pistachios
- Pumpkin bake

I'm down to 204.2! Yayyy!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Low carb menu and life update

- Half pound burger on an oopsie roll with onions, tomato, mayo, mustard and low carb ketchup
- Two pork sausage patties with one low carb pancake w sugar free Mrs. Butterworth's syrup
- Pumpkin bake
- Unpotato salad
- Two pork sausage patties with two low carb pancakes w sugar free Mrs. Butterworth's syrup

I'm the star patient!

Well, the appointment with my knee surgeon went well! He was so excited that my BMI is now below 30 (which is a different category altogether) that he even put a big star with an exclamation point right by the print-out. The receptionist said that she had never seen him do that when she was checking me out, which of course made me feel even more special. I'm always joking that I'm his star patient and now I guess that I made it official! He even joked that I almost have a better BMI than my surgeon, and I joked with him that I should give him some good recipes. He laughed.

He is really talented and sooo amazing. He received the Patient's Choice Award for 2010 and he has been doing reconstructive joint surgery for literally twenty years. I just really trust him, which is rare for me with a medical doctor. What I like about him is that he addresses the source of the problem instead of just putting a bandaid on the issue. He is really going to change my life with these two surgeries.

The new x-ray of my knee showed that the wedge of bone that they took out of my hip is bonded to the bottom of my femur, but not quite bonded to the top part of my knee. He seemed pleased with the results, but said that I was not yet ready to bear weight on my knee due to the big gap of nothingness above my knee, where we are waiting for new bone growth. Honestly, this made me feel relieved because I did not yet feel that I was ready to bear weight and now I see why. He says that the body often knows what it's ready for and boy was he right. I go back in three weeks to see if I'm ready to start dancing around yet.

My knee brace is set at 85 degrees and he was pleased when he came in to see it bent so far. It's nice to know that it's not staying stiff like it was the first few weeks when I had it in the immobilizer.

Pug News

In dog news, the pug made it through his neutering just fine! Pugs can have problems with anesthesia due to their short little muzzles, so of course his Mommy was worried about him. His sister, Daisy was so pissed when we got home without him. She was just too sad until we took the pack walk. The gf was running behind my wheelchair and I can say that my arms got a good workout. We live right across from a community college and the far part of the parking lot never has any cars at night and it's lit up well, with a police phone and all. We love to go for walks over there. It's more fun than just doing circles in front of our home.

Hopping time!

Oh, and now I can actually use my walker to get out of the house and my gf does not even have to pull around to the back slider anymore! See, the two front steps have no railing and have always freaked me out to do crutches on the steps, especially with no railing. I do the backwards-walker hop to use my one leg to hop back, which sounds scarier than it is. For me, the walker provides much more balance than crutches. I literally go from the side of the cement steps now and just clear them both at once with one big hop. It's now easier to get me loaded up because my gf can just load everything out the front door. It's also less scary that way with winter fast approaching.

Homecoming Game

My little sister is on homecoming court, so I'm excited about tomorrow night... Showing off my gf to our tiny little hick town should be interesting. I hope that my brother brings my niece and nephew because I haven't seen them in at least a couple months, which is rare for this Auntie. They are six and two and completely adorable.

Warrior-Mother

Today marks the sixteen year anniversary of my mom's moped accident! She was really not supposed to live. She was hit by a car, which sent her flying in the middle of the road, at which point a van ran her over on her whole left side of her body. She had a collapsed lung, a crushed leg beyond repair and a closed head injury. They literally put her chances of survival at less than five percent. The way she tells it, she had no choice but to survive because she had three teenagers at home plus one teenager who just entered the Air Force, so she wasn't ready to die yet. She is really a fighter and she always is an inspiration to me. She is an amputee and works full time, but is currently off getting chemo and soon to be radiation. She had breast cancer and is such a fighter that I can't stand it. She has always had the can-do spirit, even before her accident.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Low carb menu and weigh~in

- Broccoli/green onion/bacon cheesy casserole
- Hamburger gravy with mashed cauliflower
- Mock rice pudding
- Pistachios
- Hamburger gravy with mashed cauliflower

My scale kept giving me different numbers this morning. First, it said 202 point-something and then it said 205.2 and 205.8 and even 206.0. It said 205.2 many times, so I guess I will go with that one... which means I lost about half a pound this week.

Even though I've been eating low-carb, I need to wait until I'm hungry before I go for my next low carb meal. Also, I need to stop eating when I'm satisfied... not just keep going because it tastes good. Does anybody else struggle with that?

I'm officially done with beating myself up, though, because after surgery, I quit smoking and have lost 14 pounds in a wheelchair and over 100 pounds total. I started this year on January first at 280, so that is 75 pounds lost already this year.

I just need to keep on keeping on.

We are dropping off my little pug today to get neutered and I'm kind of worried about him... Kind of being the understatement of the century!

Also, I am going to my knee surgeon and getting my x-rays to see if I can start bearing weight on it yet. Scary!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Low carb menu

- Two zucchini tacos with seasoned taco meat, cheese, sour cream and diced onions
- A plain zucchini taco shell
- Three hot dogs on an oopsie roll with diced onions, mustard and low carb ketchup
- Pumpkin bake
- Unpotato salad
- Burger on half an oopsie roll with tomato, onions, swiss, mushrooms, mayo, mustard and low carb ketchup

Monday, October 10, 2011

Low carb menu

- Two zucchini tacos with taco meat, onions, salsa, sour cream and cheddar cheese
- Two pieces of pumpkin bake
- Cheesy hot dog with onions, mustard and ketchup on half an oopsie
- Mushroom and swiss burger with onions, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup on half an oopsie
- Unpotato salad

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Low carb menu

- Two pork sausage patties with a low carb pancake with sugar free Mrs. Butterworth's syrup
- Two zucchini taco shells with taco meat, cheese, onions, salsa and sour cream
- Pumpkin bake
- A few bites of unpotato salad

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Low carb menu and zucchini taco shells

- Unpotato salad
- Swiss cheeseburger with tomato, onions, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup on an oopsie roll
- Tilapia parmesan
- Zucchini taco shell with ground beef seasoned with home made taco seasoning, with tomato, onion, sour cream and salsa
- Pumpkin bake

Wow these zucchini taco shells are awesome! I ended up starting off with making a double batch, but then I decided to make another double batch. Good thing that they freeze up well because I have twenty-four low carb shells to use now!

I have always enjoyed cooking, probably because I love eating and taking care of other people... plus I love to make things in general (think queen of crafts type) but before low-carb, I did much of it from-a-box. I now have come to enjoy cooking with real ingredients without bar codes. Making stuff yourself really gives you the power to control what goes in, but more importantly, what stays out.

Low carb taco party at my place!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Low carb menu

- Pumpkin bake
- Swiss cheese burger with onions, tomato, mayo, mustard and low carb ketchup on a gluten free oopsie roll
- Un-potato salad
- Chocolate peanut butter low carb candy with coconut added
- Tilapia Parmesan
- Broccoli~bacon~green onion~cheesy casserole

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Low carb menu

- Swiss burger on half an oopsie roll with tomato, onion, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup with unpotato salad
- Swiss burger on an oopsie roll with tomato, onion, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup with unpotato salad

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I lost 100 pounds

- Two sausage patties with one low carb pancake with Mrs. Butterworth's sugar free syrup
- Unpotato salad
- Chocolate-peanut butter candy with coconut added in
- Cheesy broccoli/bacon/green onions casserole
- Two pieces of tilapia Parmesan

Guys! I lost 100 lbs! My highest recorded adult weight was 306.4. This morning, I weighed in at 205.8. I'm 5'10'' for those who are wondering. My bmi is down to 29 point something!

I really just can't believe it. I had not weighed in since the morning before my reconstructive knee surgery, which was on August 22. I weighed in at 219 that morning, so I'm down about 14 pounds since surgery... and I'm still non-weight bearing so I have not been moving about nearly as much as a normal person, let alone doing any exercise.

I firmly believe that while exercise is important, it's really more about what I'm putting in my mouth. I'm just so happy for myself and very proud, too. It's a milestone to remember...

Now, only 31 pounds to go and I'm ready!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Low carb menu

- Chicken veggie soup with mushrooms, onions, green pepper and celery
- Sausage patty with two low carb pancakes with Mrs. Butterworth's sugar free syrup
- A piece of string cheese
- Mashed cauliflower with butter
- Unpotato salad
- Swiss burger on an oopsie roll with onions, tomato, mayo, mustard and low carb ketchup

Monday, October 3, 2011

Low carb menu

- Two brown n serve sausage patties with two oopsie french toast with sugar free Mrs. Butterworth's syrup
- Salad with bacon, hard boiled egg, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing
- Ham/broccoli/cauliflower/green pepper cheesy casserole
- Two chicken legs with bbq sauce
- Too much vodka and diet pop (yeah I'm from Michigan so I say pop instead of soda!)

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Low carb menu

- Mashed cauliflower
- Two chicken legs with low carb bbq sauce
- One low carb pancake with three brown n serve sausage patties with Mrs. Butterworth's sugar free syrup
- Cauliflower~broccoli~green pepper~ham and cheesy casserole with green onions on top
- Salad with lettuce mix, bacon, eggs, cheese and Ranch dressing

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Low carb menu

- Mashed cauliflower with butter
- Boneless bbq ribs with low carb bbq sauce
- Low carb deep dish pizza with sausage, ham, pepperoni, green peppers dipped in Ranch
- Two chicken legs with low carb bbq sauce