5 Month Post-Op Pictures and a Fun Weekend

Ooo, ooo, I'm five months post-op! I lost ten pounds this month, and I am down 72 pounds overall. I am feeling great! This month's challenges have been feeling run down and hungry.

Run down: I think this is stress related. I'm doing a decent job getting my calories, protein, vitamins and such in. I am under an incredible amount of stress with the pending move, and I think it has taken a toll on me this month. In keeping with trying to understand my body's signals - I will say this is stress-related. Everything is going pretty well on the other fronts. I am being especially mindful of taking my iron pills, B12 and such. Oops - I have completely forgotten about my vitamin D, I will need to get back on that!

Hunger: I have had several HUNGRY days in the last week or so. Like 'what will I eat next, what will I eat next?' sort of days. I have been trying to counteract that with lots of protein and liquids.

Yum - I made my own shredded chicken. This solves a lot of problems for me, because I have been buying shredded chicken tacos from the restaurant in my building. At $3.26 for a soft taco, I am only eating the chicken and sour cream out of the taco, and it is a ridiculous waste of money. My friend told me to cover chicken breasts with broth in the crockpot, sprinkle liberally with taco seasoning and cook the heck out of them. I cooked two breasts overnight (10 hours) on low and they were YUMMY!! Next time I will throw in a can of tomatoes, as that flavor was definitely lacking.

Ah, I had a fun weekend with Kim at 23 Imaginary Friends! She indoctrinated me into the world of a sports mom: we saw two basketball tournament games for her daughter, and small parts of two Little League games for her stepson. We also took in a hot rod show near the ballfield. I ate 1/2 the pulled pork from a sandwich and foolishly bought a big bag of caramel corn "for my kids." I had to lock it in the trunk on the long drive home! It's going to work with me tomorrow - my coworkers can feast on it. The kids and I do not need it in the house. (My 12 year old daughter is 200+ pounds and we are going to talk major incentive program to get some weight off her this summer, so caramel corn seems like a stoopid idea to bring into the house.)

After all the sports activities, Kim and I hung out at a beautiful winery in the sun. Yay! Warm sun and cold drink - one of my world's most favoritist combinations. Kim dug through her closet and sent me home with some great hand-me-down shirts, along with a "It's Willamette, dammit!" apron from the winery that I have been coveting since I saw them the store last year.

I dare say we are even more beautiful than we were in high school! :)

There is a slight height differential between us. :)