Jeans

I am currently wearing my size 20s. :-D

That is all.

Morbid Obesity

I am no longer morbidly obese! I no longer qualify for the surgery (in the US!).

I am now "significantly obese" with a BMI of 39. :-)

Ice Cream

This was going to be a "things I didnt need to know" post. But, I learned something.

Things I didnt need to know: Ben and Jerry's makes single serve ice creams. This is Cherry Garcia in a 3.6 fl oz container. It was 99 cents, and has 200 calories. (and 3 grams of protein.) :-)

Things I learned: It took me three days to eat it. The first day, I ate about 1/3rd of it. It was oh so good, creamy, and I was satisfied. With one ounce of ice cream.

This surgery has changed me in so many ways, even as I struggle with other issues. I am thankful that I had it, even if I dont feel that way all the times. (Like trying to eat sushi! Or figuring out that while things sound good in my head, my body doesnt like it.)

Lasagna

Well, not exactly lasagna, as I did not use noodles. But, this is the best thing I have made!

I made a red sauce, with ground venison (free meat!), and turkey italian sausage. The sauce was a jar of marinara sauce, some extra diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings, and some roasted garlic.

I then made a white sauce with some of the meat mixture, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, a three italian cheese blend, pesto, and alfredo sauce.

Red sauce on the bottom, white sauce in the middle, more cheese, then more red sauce. I can freeze them like this, I add the cheese on the top at the end of baking.

So good! I made a small batch in my mini cast iron casserole things, put it in the toaster oven, figured out that the timer on the toaster oven isnt working after I let it bake an extra 15 minutes. So, I had extra brown cheese! :-)

(The meat is lean, and was drained and rinsed, all the cheese except the blend was low fat cheese. The ricotta was part skim. The pesto and alfredo sauce were full fat/calories, but I didnt use that much of it per lasagna made.)

Ode to Sushi

Oh, sushi. Why do you tease me so?
Your lovely rawness, the lovely rice.
Only to fill me oh so full.
So I cannot partake of more.

Okay, so, I never said I was a poet. But, man, sushi? Lovely sushi, I cant eat it! Argh!

I can also see why I would not have worked with the RNY, the aversion effects dont seem to work on me. Sure, I know that pizza will make me feel sick, but its so tasty! Same thing with any non-bread product mixed with any bread product, it will not sit well at all. Same thing with sushi rice, and the same thing with fried foods.

So, I know what I can eat. I know the things that if I eat them, I will not feel well. Its just retraining my brain to understand that.

Until then, i'll still go out for sushi, i'll just only order sashimi. :-)

Knowing and Doing

So, fair warning, any posts will probably be depressing until May 6th. This is the part of the semester that I have TONS of things due, and not enough time to do it.

I know what I need to do. I know how to write all my papers and get them turn in on time, I know how to get my apartment clean, I know how to lose weight. Doing it seems to escape me sometimes :-)

I went on vacation lost weight, gained it back this week, and lost 2 of it again. So, key to losing weight? Eating less and getting off my ass. :-) Easier said than done.

Its part of the waiting as well. I have to wait until my papers are done before I can clean my apartment, and I have to wait to clean my apartment before I can work out with videos/DVDs. Bleh. :-)

Half Fat

I am less than half fat :-)

My spiffy scale has a body fat analyzer, and I got back from vacation, I lost 3 pounds, and im officially less than half fat!

Woohoo!

Famous and Middle Seats

Awww. Apparently I am famous in VSG circles :-) At least, to anyone that reads the OH VSG board (link up top there).

Someone wrote me on OH, said she is a neighbor of my uncle, and when she stopped to talk with him, and mentioned the surgery, my uncle mentioned me. Of course, when he said "Amanda," she knew who I was. Cool! :-)

I think almost everything has gone wrong today. First, there were the multiple power outages that really cut into my paper writing. Then, the electrical outlets in my office stopped working, so I have to move my computer to another office. (Silly me, I didnt save my paper on anything else but that.) Then, all the Austin to Dallas flights were cancelled (including the ones that my professors were supposed to be on.) My flight to LAX was fine. It was even confirmed at 4:30pm. My flight was cancelled at 4:47pm. Bleh!

I am rebooked on one of the few flights leaving austin tomorrow morning, to San Jose (then onto San Diego). I am waiting until midnight (well, waiting for my last load of laundry to dry), and i'll check it again. By that time, hopefully all the flights will have landed, so my aircraft is there waiting for me.

Bad Part? I am a middle. I have a middle seat. I have one of the last seats on the plane, I am grateful for that. But, a middle seat means I dont get to sleep :-( At least I am no longer 320 pounds and need a seatbelt extender. I also hope that there is a cute guy that will switch seats with me :-)

Cottage Cheese

I never ate cottage cheese before surgery. Well, I would eat it, say "This is good" and then not eat it again for years.

Ive eaten more cottage cheese since the surgery than I have in my entire life.

First, there is cottage cheese with ranch dressing mix. I dislike fat free ranch, but mixed with fat free cottage cheese, its actually really good. Texturally its off, but still yummy. So, ranch cottage cheese, mixed with bacon bits, cheese, and maybe a few croutons. Yum.

I also made sweet cottage cheese today. Cottage cheese, mixed with sweet n low and a teaspoon of sugar, with a dash of vanilla. Served with strawberries!

I get the 4oz cottage cheese, this kind was the 2% Live Active cheese.

In other news, I changed the blog. Please come on over to the Actual Blog and check it out! FatGirlShrinking.com. Let me know if anything is wonky or off.

Before and During Pictures :-)

beforefront
Originally uploaded by vegecherry

Before Picture, taken 12/8/2007

after1
Originally uploaded by vegecherry

After Photo

Rings

Awww. The Sassy Ladies of WLS ring is no longer, due to the crappy things the ring site decided to do.

Most of those on the blogroll over there came from that ring. Most were pretty far out from their surgery dates, which was refreshing. I know how much WLS and my VSG has occupied my time and thoughts, and it was good to read about how people have put that behind them.

I will miss you all! But i'll still be reading :-)

Sociological Theories and Weight/Food Issues

I was reading an article on race. It says that Whites tend to focus on how far we have come in race relations, seeing our current pattern as a lot better than slavery. Blacks and other minorities focus on how far we still have to go to be a more equal society, so they see the current issues and stratification as problematic.

My family and friends see how far I have come in losing 61 pounds, and they anticipate better weights in the future. I see that I still have to lose 99 more pounds, and thus have a long way to go. Interesting.

The second theory is about food. Lower income families choose food based on “did you get enough to eat.” Middle class families focus on “did you enjoy what you were eating, was it a good taste value.” Upper class families focus on presentation (which explains why the upper end restaurants I have gone to had mediocre food, but it looked good.) This theory explains that fast food, while not healthy or good tasting (sometimes), lower income families can get a lot of food for their money, filling their stomachs for little cost. Middle class families know they get enough to eat, but are looking for good values, which is why “family restaurants” serve huge portions, so the customers can think they are getting a good value. The upper class eating is more about image and presentation, so that they can say they went to “X” restaurant, not that the restaurant was any good.

How do I make my food look good if I am only eating two ounces? ☺ Perhaps I need to learn to make “elf food” (from the commercial), just with small portions.