Opinions for Nothing

Call for Opinions: Christmas Eve Dinner

We go to my parents' house for Christmas, so I like to cook Christmas Eve dinner at my house so that my kids will have a tradition that is just for our little family. I'd like to find something that I can make every year. The first year I did it, I made lasagna. The second year, I made enchiladas. Those are the things I make the best, but they don't feel very Christmas Evey. I don't want to make turkey or ham because that is what we have for dinner on Christmas Day.

What does your family do for Christmas meals?

I am so much better than that loser soft pretzel.

I'll have you know that I just said no to this, one of my very favorite foods in the world.

A Lesson in Behavioral Therapy

I quit eating refined carbohydrates yesterday. It has only been one day, but it has been a breeze. I had an epiphany on my way to work in the morning (that's when I do my best thinking). I am like THAT girl who keeps going back to her terrible boyfriend. I was never THAT girl. I prided myself on not being THAT girl. I may not have great will power, but I have more than my fair share of pride.

Once I realized that I was acting like THAT girl, but with carbs instead of a man, it was easy to quit. I was disgusted with myself for being so weak. All day yesterday, whenever I was tempted by carbs -- now, here comes the crazy part, only it isn't crazy since I have a degree in psychology, it's science* -- I said to myself, "I don't need that bad ex-boyfriend." This triggered the same emotions I had following break-ups when I was single, as well as some of the same thoughts, like, "I am so much better than that loser."

I've never been able to quit carbs in the past, but I have broken up with a lot of boyfriends and never looked back. THAT, I can do. Check in two months and I guarantee that I will be boasting (goes well with the pride) about how I never went back to my ex. I mean, chips.

*It's science, not crazy, is another thing I tell myself.

This Relationship is Over

I'm breaking up with carbs. I have a dysfunctional relationship with refined carbohydrates. If carbs were a man, I would have never stuck around this long. A break-up is always difficult, but usually necessary. Good-bye carbs. I don't want to (eat) speak to you ever again.

 

Picture by Toothpaste for Dinner

Patriotic Cupcakes

White cake with dried blueberries, red frosting, white chocolate chips, M&Ms.

Six Months After Gastric Bypass

I am hopefully at the end of a three-week weight loss stall. This is the longest stall I have had, so I am consoling myself with a loss of inches. Six months out from surgery, I have lost a total of 60 lbs. and 28 inches. I have gone from wearing size 26 and 4X, to wearing size 18 and 1X. My shoe size has gone from a 10 back down to a 9. On the negative side, my hair is falling out. The doctor said that this should stop in about three months. The new supplements I added seem to be helping as well.

Inches lost*:

• 3.25 inches off my waist
• 8 inches off my hips
• 4.5 inches off my chest
• 4.75 inches off each thigh
• 2.75 inches off each calf
• 2.25 inches off each arm
• 2.25 inches off my neck (!)

Things I have been doing well:

• Not eating too much
• Eating enough protein
• Wearing my Fitbit
• Increasing my supplement intake

Things I need to do better:

• Drink more fluids
• Exercise more, and more consistently
• Take all of my supplements (I had to add iron, B1, Omega-3, and Biotin based on my bloodwork last month)
• Stop eating chips

*If you happen to look back at the last time I reported inches, you might notice some discrepancies. The last numbers were wrong. I think. Who knows?

The Capacity of My Pouch

The part of my anatomy where my food goes since I had surgery is called a "pouch." It was formerly the top part of my stomach. (The rest of my stomach is still in there, making digestive juices, which it adds to my intestines farther down the path. No food goes into that stomach anymore.) If I eat too much, I feel painfully full. My pouch rarely feels empty, though, so my appetite is greatly diminished.

Here are some examples to illustrate the capacity of my pouch:

• Half of a small Lunchables
• Most of a Taco Bell hard taco
• One chicken thigh
• One cup of thin turkey chili
• 1/3 of a six-inch Subway sandwich on flatbread
• Half a cup of pasta
• 1/4 of an entree-sized salad in a restaurant
• Most of a restaurant-sized hamburger patty
• Two scrambled eggs
• 1/4 of a deli sandwich
• One, single-serving bag of chips
• Two small crab cakes or one big crabcake
• 8 medium-sized shrimp
• One mini wheat pita from Trader Joe's with as much red pepper hummus as I can pile on it

What to Get Your Husband for Your Anniversary

My friends like to email me for advice. Here's a gem:

Her: Any ideas what I could get my husband for our anniversary?

Me: I can't remember what I got mine last year. Men just want steak and a BJ.

Her: HA! OMG, so true! (Don’t forget the potatoes.)

Me: Potatoes are for chicks.

Two Months After Gastric Bypass

I haven't taken pictures yet this month, but I did weigh and measure. The loss of inches this month isn't nearly as dramatic as last month, but I have lost more weight, so that's nice. (Surgery was 11/29/10.)

Since last month, I have lost:

• 9 pounds (31 total)
• .75 inches off my chest (2.5 total)
• 0 inches off my hips (5 total)
• .75 inches off my waist (2.75 total)
• .25 inches off my neck (1.75 total)
• (arm and leg measurements were a little screwy)

I found a great support group to go to once a month. They do a clothing exchange before the meeting, which is cool. I have a lot of 3X stuff to bring next month. I am continuing to do well with protein and I am doing better with the fluids. I am still not doing well with my supplements. I don't know how to make myself get into the habit on this one. I have always been terrible about. I also need to motivate myself to exercise. That's another thing I have always been terrible about.

Things I had been doing well with but I have not been doing so well lately are: eating things of little nutritional value, and consuming caffeinated, carbonated beverages. I am already back on track with the food. That part was actually pretty easy. (New tiny tummy helps immensely.) Oh, but I love diet soda. I can't drink it the way I used to, so there is no danger of returning to my former levels of mass consumption, but I can't seem to cut it out entirely.

My Super Easy Tamale Casserole Recipe

This is so easy and delicious that I can't believe I thought of it on my own.

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained*

1 can of corn, drained**

1 can Ro-Tel Original Chile Tomatoes, with juice

Shredded cheddar cheese***

1 tiny can of mild green chiles, drained****

1 package corn bread mix*****

Mix the ground beef, corn, cheese, and Ro-Tel in a 9x9 square casserole dish, or a slightly bigger oval dish. Prepare the corn bread mix according to directions. Add the green chiles and cheese to the batter, mix. Pour the batter on top of the other ingredients, completely covering them. If I use a 9x9 pan, I usually have some batter left over. If I use a larger pan, I use all of the batter. Add a little more cheese on top. Bake according to the corn bread directions. Make sure the corn bread is very golden brown on top, or it will be too gooey on the bottom.

*I've used fake ground beef soy crumbles and it was still good. It's probably good with ground turkey, too.

**I've used frozen corn as well. Still good.

***Use as much or as little cheese as you want. Or none.

****The green chiles are totally optional. I only recently started doing this. Delicious.

*****I use Marie Callendar's corn bread mix. It tastes the best and only requires water.