I am in love...

I have been looking for a new protein shake to replace my beloved Caramel Latte Inspire that is out of stock.. Today I made this shake and it's wonderful!!

It's Like a Mocha Freeze (like Starbuck's Mocha Frappuccino)


4 oz. unsweetened Almond Milk (I used plain, but chocolate would be divine!)
4 oz. water
1 sleeve instant coffee crystals decaff
1 oz. Torani Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup
1 scoop "Gosh That's Good" Chocolate SF powder (or sub 1 Tablespoon Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup?)
4-5 large ice cubes

I put it all in my Magic bullet and whirred it up. If you have some, a dollop of SF whipped cream might be nice too.
I had today off work, but we were out and about running errands. Off to Columbus for work tomorrow, back in BG for Thursday and off again on Friday.
See ya soon!

Busy weekend, busy life

I can't believe how busy I am these days. My house has been a mess.. hubby has been eating out of boxes (frozen pizzas, boxed mac & cheese..etc. all the good stuff) I haven't been cooking at all, even for myself, which is a bad thing.. BUT.. it was All for a good reason, I have been busy, but is that a real reason or a cop out? (OK, cop out.. I agree!) Last night, I had enough of the mess.. and I cleaned like a mad woman, the counter, the cupboards, heck, I even cleaned the oven (thank goodness for self cleaning ovens!! LOL). Today when I got out of bed, I treated myself to a cup of Joe and started cooking.. it's amazing what a clean kitchen will do to motivate you! Today's concoctions are:

1. SF Peach Cheesecake Yogurt

• Trader Joe's plain Greek Yogurt
• SF cheesecake pudding powder
• sliced canned peaches

2. Cottage cheese salad

• Small curd cottage cheese (large container) mixed with..
• Orange SF jello powder (small box) then add...
• SF Cool Whip (half a container) and finish with...
• Mandarin oranges (small can, I used about a half of can)

3. Crustless SF Strawberry Pie for the hubby (ok, I might sneak some too.. I did clean the ENTIRE kitchen ya know)

• 1 small tub of SF strawberry pie glaze mixed with..
• 1# container of strawberries (washed, cleaned & hulled.) and then topped with
• 3 T graham cracker crumbs mixed with 2 T melted margarine.

I am pooped now, and have to go to the grocery store so I can cook some more.

Life is great, when you lose all the weight!!

Love you guys!

1 year later... what a difference a year makes

Ok, I have been really lax in updating my blog... but I have been really busy enjoying my NewLife!

What a difference a year makes! One year ago, on March 11, 2009, I was in the hospital having life changing surgery. Today, I am living proof that this surgery works... if you follow the rules. I am still very very very strict, but I do indulge is something sounds kind of good, and even then occasionally. The rules.. yep, there are still rules that have to be diligently followed. Those weren't just for the weight loss phase of this journey. Yep, they can be hard to follow, but if the weren't hard, they wouldn't be called rules. I have changed my eating to include mostly clean, unprocessed food if at all possible. I cook from scratch as much as humanly possible, and I have instituted a weekly cooking day where I spend 2-3hours cooking wonderful concoctions for the week. Usually this cooking day is Saturday, sometimes Sunday. Scratch cooking isn't as hard as you think, but I guess i have always enjoyed cooking. Every couple of weeks, I start cooking day by making a batch of homemade sugar free applesauce in my crock pot. While that cooks, I usually make some sugar free jello or pudding for weeknight snacking. My favorite snack is protein pudding.. I always like to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I always cut up a small block of cheese into 1oz portions and sometimes I bake some sort of sugar free treat for Steve to take in his lunches. While those are cooking, will I start planning for the weekly dinners. I peruse the grocery ads and whatever is on sale is usually what we are going to eat.. we eat ALOT of chicken.. ask Steve! I love to surf the internet and look for WLS friendly recipes... and I have found a few that I really love, you're welcome to love them as well.

Try:

The World According to EggFace http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

Elana's Pantry (Gluten Free stuff) http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Healthy Indulences http://healthyindulgences.blogspot.com/

And of course, my all time fav recipe site: BE! http://bariatriceating.com/BEhealthnutrition/recipes.php

OK enough about food, it's making my hungry! (HAHAH... I never get hungry.. i just know what time I have to eat!) Keeping with the 12 theme, here are 12 things I can now do because I had weight loss surgery.

1. Cross my legs.

2. See my collarbones, ribs, and hip bones? I have those?

3. Run in place with the Wii for 3 minutes.. and not die!

4. "Feel" my tailbone.. ouch.

5. Do 3+ flights of stairs and not be out of breath! (100 stair steps)

6. Buy my clothes in the normal section of stores.. you know, where you buy them.. Missus and Juniors!

7. ... in a size 10

8. Sit on my hubby's lap comfortably.. for both of us.

9. Give up taking drugs.. for insulin resistance you silly goose!

10. Play with my niece and nephew and not be out of breath.

11. Did I say anything about buying cute clothes?

12. Lose 1 shoe size, 4 1/2 ring sizes, and 16 clothing number sizes... all in one Year!

Here is the link to my pictures from the last 12 months.. I can't believe the changes. I can finally see her in the mirror.. you know, the woman that I have always seen in my mind. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68770&id=529697772&l=939565e3d4

So, here is my year in review... what has changed for you in the last 12 months?

9 months in.. posting it a bit late..

Today is December 11th. To most of you, it's "Just December 11th, nothing special here, 14 days until Christmas. But to me, it's my 9 month anniversary or "rebirthday." As of today I lost a whopping 167 lbs. I also wanted to reflect on 9 months...

9 months can be a long time (ask a mommy to be) or a short time (ask a cancer patient who's been given 9 months to live.) It's all in your perspective. For a baby, 9 months is about the time (give or take a few weeks.) to bring a new baby into the world. In March, I got a new baby tummy and I have had to learn and grow as the months pass, just like after a baby is born it begins to learn and explore new territories that are foreign to him or her. For me, it's learning to eat a new healthier way. Giving up things that are bad for me (refined sugar for example) and finding new "legal" replacement are a way of day to day life for me. Planning is key!! I knew this journey wouldn't be easy, even though I have heard numberous times that I took the "easy way out." Rest assured friends, this was not the easy way out. But for me, it was the only way out of the fat prision I had put myseld in. But, this experience has helped me grow. I now appreciate simple things like sugar free popscicles instead of full sugar ice cream when it's hot out and fitting into those size 12 pants.

I went shopping with my sister's on Black Friday and I was able to squeeze thru a very skinny pass thru (carts against a wall...) I would NEVER EVER been able to do that before, I would have never even attempted it. It was great and it was liberating! I now feel like I can do anything. Growing thru this process has been an eye opening experience for sure. There are so many things that I appreciate daily that I couldn't do before surgery and I can now. Things others take for granted that for me were not even possible until now (think 4 flights of stairs and still not out of breath!)

I found this quote by John Maxwell the other day and I hung it beside my computer at work. It continues to inspire me each and every day. The quote says "If we are growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone."

I've shared my story of rebirth and growth with you each month so I have a question for you...

How are you growing??

Merry Christmas!

That Tuna recipe...

Hi All.. here is the tuna and cucumbers recipe as promised:

Angie's Tuna and Cukes
1 can of Tuna
1/4 cup of plain fat free yogurt (I like greek style Fage myself)
1 T Mustard
Dash of Salt
Pinch of Pepper
1 medium cucumber

Mix the tuna, yogurt, and mustard. Salt and pepper to desired taste. Set aside in fridge. While the mixture is chilling, peel the cucumber and slice lengthwise. Hollow out the seeds in the center. Stuff tuna mixture into the cucumber, if desired, slice into 2" pieces to serve. Makes 2 servings.

Stats: 123 cals, <1g Fat, 3 carbs, <1g Fiber, 24g Protein, 424mg sodium, 25mg cholesterol.

8 and a half months out... I am getting a bit Lazy about this bloggin business!

Time flies when you're having fun. It's been quite a wild ride so far, thats for sure! I can't believe I missed the 7 month update... Someone needs to remind me.. ahem.. Steve?!?

Here's the highlights for the last couple of months..

• Now I am down 164lbs. And yes, I am still loosing and yes, I still have a ways to go.. maybe another 10 or 15lbs. I don't know. I've decided to just listen to my body and let it decide where we are going to stop.


• Lots of random stuff is going on here. We have been selling items at craft shows in the area. Business isn't very good this year but Steve and I have fun together and I love to craft.


• Exercize is key to success even more now that before as my weighloss has slowed to a crawl. While I was loosing 15# a week it's more like 1 or 2 lbs a week.


• I have started to enjoy a bigger variety of foods... I love tuna fish with cucumbers, tuna fish casserole (with BE's famous crepes!) What? you want my recipes? Keep tuned in..


• I am becoming quite the creative protein barista and I have been encouraged to consider writing a book... who me? (It's really been my dream since a child to be a published author!)

On a down note, this past couple of months have been extremely hard because I lost my beloved Granpa on October 18th. Rest in Peace Pops. i love you and miss you. Thanks for being proud of me and thanks for telling me "ya look real good, I mean it!"

All in all life is speeding along and I am trying to keep up. Oh, and here are the holidays.

Enjoy your journey, I am Loving mine!

Love,

Ang

6 Months ALREADY!?! No way!!

Well, I can’t believe it! 6 months already? September 11th was my 6 month surgiversary! Where has the time gone? August 21 marked the 1 year anniversary of me starting this journey. I can’t believe a year ago, I decided to make the change, take the plunge if you will. I’m posting my picture from July 2008, it’s the closest thing I have as to a 1 year picture. I’m also posting my 6month anniversary picture too. Look at the difference… WOW! There are some days that I still can’t believe that I look so different, feel so good. It’s amazing. Last week, I had a crazy burst of energy… so I cleaned out my closets again, cleared out my old shoes, and cleaned out the dresser. It was a take no prisoners approach and I came up with 10 grocery bags of clothes that I can’t wear anymore, and yes, I did try them all on. (Steve got a great fashion show complete with the requisite “Do you think this makes me look fat?” and “Does this look too big?”) Ten bags is a lot of clothes. Most of these are going to friends who can use them (I’m of the reduce, reuse, recycle school of thought, and well, who can’t use free clothes in today’s economy?) I made a couple exceptions however and made a couple of baskets of the brand name stuff to take to consignment… I was so excited to sell my clothes and make some money to buy new smaller sized clothes… What a joke that turned out to be. First of all, I can’t really complain, but I am going to anyway, so humor me. Saturday, I took my baskets to Clothes Mentor in Perrysburg. After waiting for 2 hours for them to sort thru them, I made $21 and they only took 6, yes 6, articles of clothing. I mean, I have to be grateful that those are 6 pieces that I don’t have to get rid of, but I thought that they would take more. So, all week, I have been driving around with 2 baskets of clothes in my backseat, keeping me company all the way. I am going to take them to consignment, or, again, donate them to friends who can use them.
Lately, I have been getting the question “What’s the best part of losing all the weight?” The very best part is how much healthier I feel. ‘Nuff said. The second best part of the last 6 months is I can now shop in the “regular” sizes in the stores (at least for my tops). I got a size 14 skirt zipped this weekend. I am going to try it on again and see how close I am to being able to wear it in public. I need to shop for some jeans, I have none and I don’t like that. I am thinking Goodwill… unless anyone has some size 16s I can have…
We have been having fun trying new foods at our house. Or at least I have been having fun. Steve has tried lots of new foods… and there are very few that are going to be put on his plate again! He liked the Italian chicken. Stir Fry, not so much. I made him grill marinated chicken Shish-Kabobs for supper a couple weeks ago. He said he didn’t like the green pepper and onion (that made me laugh because he eats lots of those, he just doesn’t know it!) It’s been trial and error for him. Me, I eat pretty much the same things, day in and day out. Things I know work. I don’t try a whole lot of new stuff. I did eat some 7-Layer salad a couple of weeks ago. It was wonderful, so I may make some salad for dinner tonight. Tuna salad with cukes mixed in is my all time favorite, right up there with my daily dose of Chicken Cassoulet or chili. I love cucumber salad made with yogurt and Splenda instead of mayo & milk. It’s all about learning how to tweak your favorites so you can eat them and not have the sugars, flours, fats, etc and make them healthy protein choices. I know my taste buds are changing too because I can see all of you making the “yuck” faces! LOL. Well, I better sign off for now. Hope all is well for those of you who stuck around to read the end of this! See ya next time.