This Week's Eats

Repetition, repetition, repetition.

You've heard me say it time and time again. For me, success = repeating foods/meals. Foods that I like. Foods that are easy to cook. Foods that I know are good for me. Like last week. I seriously could not get enough of that egg tostada thing. Before my lap band, I never could have done this. I don't know what has changed exactly, but I'm very content to eat the same thing every day. As long as I like it.

Almost every week, my breakfasts and lunches are the same each day. Dinner can vary a bit, but I've found that I usually cook about twice a week, and I eat what I make for several meals. John and I go out to dinner on the weekends, and I think that the fact that I eat at home during the week makes me look forward to our restaurant dates even more. So here's what I've been loving and eating this week.

I am still really enjoying these Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit Cups. I make a big batch on Sunday and eat them throughout the week. This week I've been having one for breakfast, and one as a pre-workout snack in the afternoon.

Lunch this week has been 2 ounces of deli roast beef on a small Hawaiian roll with a little bit of extra hot horseradish. I found these Hawaiian rolls at Walmart and they are 100 calories each. I know a lot of you try to stay away from bread, but for me, bread fills me up. Also... I. Love. Bread. I also love aluminum foil. :)

For the past two nights I've had the same dinner. John and I recently joined Sam's Club again, and I bought this Treasures from the Sea Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia. It's absolutely delicious. If you are a member of the Sam's Club, you need to put this in your cart. Like most everything at Sam's, this comes in a big ol' bag. We will easily make 5 meals of this.

This week I ate it with a little bit of Green Giant broccoli in cheese sauce.

And then… It's chocolate time. I've always loved the Deep Chocolate Vita Tops, but I hadn't bought them in a long time. They are kind of expensive, but sooooo delicious. Tonight I'm going to enjoy my Vita Top during… Scandal! Guilty pleasure overload.

 

Daily Total: 854 calories, 60 grams protein

 

I hope everyone is having a great week! Thanks for reading. :)

Weigh-In Saturday

Starting weight: 301
Last week's weight: 220
Today's weight: 218.5
Total loss: 82.5 pounds
Banded: 6/7/2013

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you all have had a wonderful week.

For me, this week was all about getting back on track. And it actually felt great. I'm down a pound and a half. Finally out of the 220's. Yea!!

I always weigh myself three times. I know...it's one of my weird things. Twice I weighed 218 and the third time I weighed 218.5. So we will go with that. I probably need to get a better scale. One that will show more than a .0 or .5....but this one has served me well thus far. And...lezz be honest...like I need those extra decimals to obsess over. :)

I was able to work out 4 times this past week and I've set a goal for myself to do that again. I never in a million years thought I would be the type of person who actually looked forward to a workout, but it's actually happening. What's also happening is that my arms are getting toned and muscular. I actually can feel defined triceps. What the what??? It's pretty amazing.

My eating was pretty repetitive this week, but I didn't mind one bit. I'm still loving the Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit cups for breakfast. I've played around with the recipe a bit and I've gotten the calories even lower. Monday night I made a Sloppy Joe Casserole and ate that for three nights in a row. But Thursday's dinner...it's my favorite new thing of all.

Not sure what to call this exactly, but it's a Mission tostada shell with a schmear of nonfat refried beans, and a little bit of 2% shredded cheddar. I broil it for a few seconds until everything is nice and melty and then top it with a scrambled egg, avocado slices, and some hot sauce. Although I've been eating it for dinner, it would probably make a great weekend breakfast.

Just delicious. I am going to try a different version this week with some shredded chicken or maybe pork carnitas in place of the egg. The tostada shells are only 55 calories each. ¡Qué magnífico! 

 

I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for reading!

 



Weigh-In Saturday

Starting weight: 301
Last week's weight: 220
Today's weight: 220
Total loss: 81 pounds
Banded: 6/7/2013

Well…that was completely expected.

There are a few words in the lap band community that are used a lot. I think the two that probably irritate me the most are "tool" and "journey". Although they are both a bit over used, there's a really good reason that they are used SO much. Number one... the lap band IS just a tool. And no matter how many times you hear it said, the truth of that statement cannot be disputed. As for journey…there is probably no other word that we bandsters love to use more. And there's a good reason for that too. The word "journey" evokes the notion that it's going to take someone a while to get where they're going. Perhaps there will be a little bit of meandering, a few pit stops...hell, even a few breakdowns. All while keeping your eye on the final destination. It's hard to read a lap band blog post and not find some mention of the person's journey. And that's totally appropriate and fitting. I think a lot of us look at this whole crazy ride as a journey. Sometimes it sounds more like an odyssey. Maybe that's the word we should all start using. Hey...let's start a new trend!

As for my "odyssey" this week. Picture me chained to a rock like Andromeda, while the Kraken is getting ready to take me down Clash of the Titans style. Where is Perseus, dammit? And bee tee dubs...can we all just pause and reflect on a young Harry Hamlin circa 1981?  Damn, Gina.

But I digress. It was an epic battle this week for sure. I love Valentine's Day and I will not be ashamed! I mean...the two major themes are love and chocolate. I like both!  I always bake some sort of indulgent treat for John, my friends at school, and John's work friends. This year it was Berger Cookies. They are a Baltimore thing. Luka Beth knows what I'm talking about. I also went to two baby showers this week for my BFF. One was last Saturday night, and I don't think I've ever been to any shower with better food. It was delighfully swanky and the hosts went ALL out. It was just amazing. Then on Tuesday, we had her shower at school. I made lemon cream cheese tarts for that. I think you can all see where this is headed. After all the eating, drinking, and baking I did this week, I'm feeling grateful to have maintained. The good news is that I have absolutely no occasions coming up for weeks and weeks. Everything can go back to status quo.

Oh and have I also mentioned that I'm sick? Yep…a sinus infection. And let's talk about that for a minute, because I need your help. This is the first sinus infection that I've gotten since I've been banded. When it started out, I actually thought I was having acid reflux. What is that all about? I took a Zantac and some Tums and it never went away. I was starting to think that my band was too tight because of the night cough I had. After a couple of days though, it became clear that I was just getting sick. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Have you ever felt like sinus drainage was acid reflux? Does the drainage irritate your esophagus like that? Please comment if you have any insight on this, because it really freaked me out. I even spent a couple days thinking that maybe I needed to go for an unfill.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. It is sunny and 65 here after weeks and weeks of temps in the 20's. Even though I don't feel so great, I'm going to try and get out and take advantage of it.

Thanks for reading.

Weigh-In Saturday

Starting weight: 301
Last week's weight: 223
Today's weight: 220
Total loss: 81 pounds
Banded: 6/7/2013

So...yesterday was my 8 month bandiversary and this is what I posted over on Instagram:

 

So a three pound loss since last Saturday. Woo hoo! Definitely digging that!

 

Whether you are pre-op, post-op, or a lapband veteran, I really encourage all of you to check out the lapband community on Instagram. I rely on it daily for meal ideas, motivation, and workout tips. And of course you can follow me! User name: lapbandeats

 

I hope everyone is staying warm and having a fabulous weekend! Thanks for reading!



Recipe: Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Cups

Holy smokes. We have a winner. Like an "I cannot wait to eat this everyday for breakfast" winner. You need to make these immediately.

I've mentioned to you guys before that one of my most-visited recipe websites is Emily Bites. Emily is a Weight Watcher and she has been posting incredible recipes for quite a while. I've never made anything of hers that wasn't just really good.

Now...I don't know about you, but one of my very favorite things pre-lapband was a good Breakfast Casserole. Cheesy, sausage-y, carbohydrate-rich deliciousness. My mom makes one with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls every Christmas morning. It's amazing. I'm sure you've all had a version of it.

I was looking at Emily's website for a WW version, and I came across her Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Cups. Bingo. I was immediately inspired to do a lapband-friendly sausage version. I wanted to see if I could keep the calories about the same, but up the protein slightly. And...guess what....success!!

Here's what you'll need:

Refrigerated Biscuits -10 count (I used the Great Value brand)
3 Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties (if you're not down with the veggie, try turkey or reduced fat pork sausage)
3 eggs
1 T. fat free half and half (you could also use skim or 2% milk)
1/3 cup finely shredded cheese ( I used a Colby and Monterrey Jack mix)
Salt and Pepper

Heat the veggie sausage patties according to directions. Dice those up and set aside.

While the sausage is cooking, spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Take the 10 biscuits and roll them out with a rolling pin slightly. Press each one into the muffin cups... pressing the dough up against the sides.

Divide the sausage mixture and the 1/3 cup cheese evenly among each one. I was really impressed with how much cheese a 1/3 cup truly is.

Beat the 3 eggs and fat free half and half well. Pour this mixture evenly into each cup. Salt and pepper the tops of each one.

 

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the eggs are set and the biscuits are golden brown.

 

Here is what they look like fresh out of the oven:

And because they are so pretty....one more angle:

 

I have a pretty good fill right now, and one of these was a perfect bandster portion. Just delicious. Maybe my favorite thing I've made in quite some time.

 

Nutrition stats per muffin:

Calories: 113

Fat: 4 grams

Carbs: 12 grams

Protein: 7 grams

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

This Is How We Snow Day

Or Ice Day if I'm being completely accurate.

The 5:00am phone call happened again. But this time, there was no "staff needs to report at regular time" added on. Today was a complete cancellation! I was pretty surprised, but when I got up and saw all the ice, it made complete sense. Everybody knows, Southerners are ill-prepared for wintry weather. I'm looking at you, Atlanta. :) So we had a lazy day at home.

Ice in the trees is pretty as long as it doesn't mess with my electricity or DirecTV!

This is how I spent most of the day today. Legwarmers...I'm bringin' em back, y'all.

There was lots of guilty pleasure TV...Bravo mixed with a little QVC. There may have even been a Today's Special Value purchased. Shhhhh...don't tell. I love Tarte Cosmetics, and they were practically giving it away. I couldn't afford NOT to get it.

 

This is what Furry Lewis did:

Except when I made Tuna Salad for lunch and he was all like...

But then it was right back to...

I'm getting ready to indulge in a little 25 calorie Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate myself. It's not Starbucks or anything, but it hits the spot!

Remind me in June how much I enjoyed this day, will ya? :)

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

Scale Update

Hello. My name is Julie and I am a recovering Control Freak.

Seriously. What is my deal?

After a hot date with the Hubs last night, and a long, rainy, wonderful night of sleep, I woke up this morning in a much better frame of mind. And you know what else helped tremendously?? The sweet comments and emails I received about my last post. Seriously. What would I do without you guys?

In a move that could have gone hideously awry, I woke up and got on the scale this morning. I was thinking...what the hell...it's only a number and I KNOW I have been giving it everything I've got. And what do you know…down a pound for an all-time low of 222. I guess I should know by now that my body is not going to let go of weight until it's damn good and ready. This is a lesson I am learning.

Patience. I'm working on it.

Weigh-In Saturday

Starting weight: 301
Last week's weight: 223
Today's weight: 223
Total loss: 78 pounds
Banded: 6/7/2013

No loss this week.

After last week's 2.5 loss, I wasn't expecting much. But something? Anything? I mean, come on...I'm playing by all the rules, here.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm too attached to the scale. Like...maybe I need to take a little scale break? I'm all for weekly accountability, but getting on the scale this morning and seeing no loss whatsoever put me in a funk. Actually, it pissed me the hell off. No bueno. Have you been there?

In my very first blog post, I wrote about losing 150 pounds about fifteen years ago. It took me almost 2 years to do it. And guess how many times I weighed myself? Exactly twice. Once when I began, and then once when my friend Jon bet me that I'd lost at least 140lbs and forced me to see for myself. I don't know exactly why I didn't weigh myself regularly. I think I just didn't want to become obsessed with the numbers. I, as my dad would say, "kept my head down and my nose clean" and just forged ahead. If I was having setbacks or plateaus, I was none the wiser. There's a strong argument to be made here and I honestly can't tell you where I stand right now.

But as defeated as I felt this morning...I am claiming a victory of sorts. Instead of throwing in the towel, I met a dear friend for breakfast and then I went and channeled my blind rage and aggression negative feelings in a positive way...at the gym. I had a great workout and then...you know what? I felt better.

A little bit better.

Not defeated.

In this for the long haul, come what may.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Thanks for reading.