Fat Frog Diary

 It's kind of official. I've lost at least 75 pounds now, if you start from the highest weight I know about, which was 297 lbs. That's the day I got very, very scared and told myself, "This has to stop." As of my doctor visit last Friday, I weigh 222 lbs.  I've been struggling with weight loss since COVID-19 hit and we went into lockdown. Not for any good reason, really. I stopped monitoring what I ate. That's it. And that's a stupid reason I can't blame on the lockdown.  Truthfully, I'm lucky. I'm an introvert. I don't care if I go weeks without being physically in the company of humans. I love Zoom. I can talk and get business done without feeling social anxiety. I like text and email. That's "personal contact" enough for me.  I used pushing the lawn mower as exercise. In the heat of Florida, that's a workout! We have a battery powered lawnmower that lasts between 30-45 minutes before it needs a charge. That's a ...

This email begins a series sent to a friend considering bariatric surgery. I've decided to share my emails with her, since this uses some of the recipes and concepts previously expressed herein. I want to reiterate that the opinions expressed in my blog are my own. I am not a medical or nutritional professional. The information I give is based solely on my personal experience. Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV).  I promised I'd give you information on how to make the process of getting ready for bariatric surgery easier, so here goes. I'll be doing this in sections, mainly because it takes time to absorb the concepts and put them into practice. Not only that, but there's a lot of information to share! First we'll go over the boring, repetitive basics every yo-yo dieter knows. Still, this is important to remember. After all, practicing now means you avoid dumping syndrome later, and who really wants to feel nauseated, stomach cramps, weakness, shakiness, and sweating...

Have you seen the 21-Day Fix diet? I kept coming across pins on Pinterest related to it, and I was intrigued by the seeming simplicity of simply measuring by using colorful containers. No counting! Let me state right at the beginning that I didn't buy the book, nor did I buy the colored containers. While they are inexpensive enough on Amazon, I want to "try before you buy" and simply see if it would help me in my weight loss adventures while I wait for surgery. I'm a dedicated foodie. That's one reason why my BMI is a whopping 43. I love food, and I love combining my foods into interesting and tasty combinations such as mini-peppers cut in half and stuffed with half a mozzarella stick. Yumm! Who says diets have to be boring? Anyway, I checked around and found the number of colorful containers for my weight. Each color represents a different food group and each container is a specific size to match a serving of that food group. For instance, I am allowed 3 gr...

I don't know about you, but most Jell-o Jiggler and Knox Blox recipes want you to use 4 boxes of Jell-o, and the Knox Blox formula looks like a chemist's list of ingredients. But what if you want enough for one person? What if you only have one box of three different flavors? Now what? Break out the calculator and guess? NOPE! Here's your simple formula. You can commit this to memory. For every one box of Jell-o, use one cup of hot water. Now here's the rest of the tricks: 1. Use a spray like Pam to lubricate the inside of your mold. Wipe most of the foam away with a paper towel, leaving just a slick surface. 2. When mixing the gelatin and hot water, stir with the whisk for two minutes. Yes, set a timer. There's one on your phone, microwave, and probably your stove. Use your Echo device. Use a timer. Seriously. Stir for the whole two minutes and pay attention. Create as few bubbles as possible. Stir, don't whisk. Bubbles leave unsightly pock marks on...

I'll repeat this on LapBandTalk.com, but I'm guessing my bariatric surgeon, Dr. Michael Baptista, is getting more and more successful. He's moved from his partnership with another doctor and into his own spiffy new office MUCH more conveniently located for me, in Arlington right off 9A and Monument in the Brooks Rehab Building. Now, I'm not saying his former partner was a bad doctor-- not with that many awards-- but I didn't like the other doctor and that's the honest truth. I'm allowed my opinions, and my two experiences with the former partner were unpleasant. Now I feel much freer to help Dr. Baptista with his newer patients! I'm pleased to say Dr. Baptista asked me to start attending the monthly support group so I can provide cheerfulness and inspiration to a group that has recently begun to focus on negativity in his opinion. One subject he mentioned specifically I could help with was the low carb diet. Many have difficulty in going beyond what...

This girl is telling it like it is!! I refuse to reinvent the wheel. Wendy Tippens tells you the truth about banding. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKfp7aovYkM&NR=1

As anyone in our sisterhood of Scale Whores Anonymous (SWA) knows, I'm the nut case who keeps track of her weight by writing it down on the bathroom mirror with a wipe-off board pen. I have an antiquated bathroom scale that looks like it belongs in the Art Deco Revival era several decades ago, and I love it because of that beauty. I know it's not accurate, but I step on it anyway every day. (That's why there's an SWA-- we're compulsive about it.) Last month, just before Christmas, when I stepped on the scale at the doctor's office, I got a nasty shock. Despite repeated attempts to be very good, I'd *gained* a pound. EEEK! So, I was determined to get back on the wagon. I pulled out the old food journal and locked all the carb contraband out in the cabinet outside. My scale said I lost. At one point it dipped down to 205 lbs, and my shriek of joy should have shattered the bathroom window. (Thank you, tempered glass.) Still, I drove with butterflies i...

Why do I crave certain foods? Like the writer in this article, at certain times of the day I'm a lunatic for certain foods. Thankfully, I've managed to curb the sugar and chocolate cravings. They're still there, make no mistake, but I can substitute a string cheese or a healthy snack. But why does my body crave those things? Why is it such a specific list? Well, here's the answers to those burning and fat-producing questions: http://food.yahoo.com/blog/yahoofreshpicks/13805/your-food-cravings-explained-and-contained For me, the answer was ridiculously simple. Let my body have something about every three hours. Here's a rough schedule. I don't adhere to it rigidly, but you get the point. 6 AM or so-- I awaken and all I want for those first few hours is my coffee. Fine. I permit myself three mugs of coffee. That's exactly 3g of carbs. 9 AM-- Now my stomach (upper level only) growls a little. So, I have an egg. Or perhaps a bit of bacon. Protein only, with ver...

MissusSmartyPants Not a size 6 but wondering if you can wear white pants and pull it off? This warm weather dilemma haunts many women. Most women are afraid of white pants because they can show every bump and bulge and be more of a fashion faux pas than a fashion "do". Lots of women cling to the color black like a security blanket (it is so slimming, you know) and just can't let go! Afraid to try something beside black pants? You are not alone. Dear Missus Smarty Pants, I am a wondering if white pants will make me look even bigger? I am a bit overweight but I would love to wear white pants or shorts. With warmer weather on the way I'd love to know how to wear white and look good. I am a body type D, by the way. Thanks for your help,Sylvia Dear Sylvia, This question pops up every spring/summer! White is a great color to wear in the warmer summer months. White is light, bright and contrasts nicely with black and every bright color (lime, fuchsia, royal blue, sunny yello...

According to my bathroom scale this morning, my weight has now dropped to 242, down from my official start of 286. That's 44 pounds, gone forever. More significantly, my BMI has now dropped below 40, and I'm no longer considered "morbidly obese" and am now merely (!) "obese." BMI charts seem to differ, but I wanted to be sure that, by all their numbers, I'm now simply "obese." Uhhh...thanks? In some ways, it's significant that I'm merely on the chart at all! Some BMI charts don't even go as high as 250 lbs, as if such a weight does not bear noticing. It should be noticed. In fact, moreso than the weights closer to the ideal, IMHO! Those who are morbidly obese need MORE help, not less! Am I saying they (formerly, "we") need sympathy? Not necessarily. However, because there are issues --health and social are the two main ones-- the morbidly obese need to be on the charts and in the sights of the medical community. Not to men...

(Reprise from a post on LapBandTalk.com in one of the forums) I knew it was coming. I knew I hadn’t lost any weight, or not nearly enough to be pleasing to myself. Sure enough, I’d lost a mere 5 pounds in the past six weeks. Despite the reassurances of the nurse taking my weight that almost everyone had the same difficulties due to the weather being so cold, I knew I could do better. My appetite had been on the increase, and consequently, my caloric intake on my FitDay.com report showed a gradual increase. So, I went in today for my visit, determined to have maybe a couple of cc’s just to nip that trend toward weight gain in the bud. Nope! Once these pounds come off, they are not going back on by golly! See ya! Buh-bye! I’d only lost 5 pounds, but about 4.9 of those pounds was pure fat! Now, that’s a reason to celebrate. I might have lost more, but Dr. Baptista’s nifty machine said I had water weight issues. Yes, I did, mostly in a swollen left ankle from doing too much this past weeke...

I knew I'd recorded my heaviest weight on a weight tracker, but I couldn't remember where until I stumbled on it today. There it is at the bottom of the chart on the right -- 298 lbs, a little over a year ago now. I've lost 54 pounds since that day, and more comes off when I follow my diet. No one believes me when I tell them I've already lost 54 pounds. Like, nothing counts before your surgery date. A year of struggle is a year of my life, and it darn sure does count. Someday, when I'm in those skinny jeans or daringly wearing a bikini (yeah, at my age!) I want to have the proof I used to weight just shy of 300 pounds because no one will believe me then, either. LOL!

This weekend was a "road test" for my new lifestyle. Friday I went with a local quilting guild to St. Simon's Island for a once-a-year event/sale on special quilting fabrics. Naturally of course, we had to sample the local restaurants. and this year was seafood! I was smart enough to choose an appetizer only, a 5 oz chunk crab cake with no naughty breading or fillings. I only ate half and asked for a box. It's still in the fridge. Then yesterday, I was a very naughty girl. Dante and I went to the Hoggestown Medieval Faire in Gainesville. We left early, but in a bit of a rush, so no breakfast. Dante insisted we stop at a McDonalds for a quick bite. (sigh) I should have ordered one of the "breakfasts" and eaten just the sausage and eggs. No, I was weak. I hadn't had an Egg McMuffin in years, and couldn't resist. (flogging myself for my crime) It took me close to an hour to eat the silly thing, but I did it. (Tsk! Tsk!) Now at the faire, I was better ou...

Okay, I admit it. I've been anal. No surprise there, right? I've been stepping on the bathroom scale every morning and sometimes at night. Is it any wonder that I'm not seeing much in the way of results anymore? I keep expecting the same phenomenal weight loss I had when on liquids only, and that's not reasonable. Two pounds a week is reasonable. Ten is not. I also know better than to think I won't step on that scale every morning. I'm paranoid about gaining even one pound now that I can eat solid foods again. The terror strikes every time I put a morsel of food in my mouth. So, I'm changing my subject lines. Instead of counting the days since surgery --which I was losing track of anyways-- I'll note what I weighed that morning. Since I don't blog every day, I'll see the steady downward turn of the pounds. Hopefully, that will stop this unreasoning and needless fear.

Okay, another small non-scale triumph from shower time. I'd already noted my feet did not swell nearly so much lately, despite a lot of walking lately. I'd grinned and moved on. That was expected. The doc had promised, and it was true. Cool beans. What I didn't expect was what I saw --or rather, didn't see-- when I dried my legs this morning after my shower. Where'd the spider veins go? My feet, ankles, and legs used to be covered in blue and red spider veins and varicose veins, as if my three-year-old granddaughter had colored me with her magic markers. One particularly nasty set of both varicose and spider covered an area the size of two silver dollars on my right leg, on the inside calf. It's almost gone! Yes, there's a pale blue bruise, but nothing compared to the hideous mark I've worn for years. Excited and curious, I replaced my right leg with my left on the toilet top where I'd been drying my legs. My left has been the bane of my existence fo...

Tonight I cooked a meal I couldn't have: pork chops with an apricot sauce, despite the fact it's low carb. My healing isn't done, and even chicken still presents difficulties passing the stoma. While my DH and roomie attacked the "normal" food, I hummed happily and turned to the fridge to find some mushies. Then I stopped. I was shocked to realize I wanted the veggies, but no meat. Was I nuts? Didn't I want a nice juicy slab of animal? Uh, no. Not really. I pondered this while I pulled out the kale, rutabaga, and broccoli I'd cooked a couple of days ago, deliberately overcooking them to the correct "mushie" stage. Tsking over the limp and soggy state of the broccoli, I chose it first. Zapped in the microwave, that serving lasted me about the same amount of time as the guy's massive portions. (I'm really getting into this serving myself a la russe --one course at a time.) The guys piled back into the kitchen and scooped great big second h...

Wow, it's only 8 AM on a Monday, and I'm already experiencing the effects of being banded. First, I awakened on my stomach. As a tummy sleeper, finding myself comfortable in that position was a huge relief. I stretched until I felt my back do the Rice Krispie "snap, crackle, pop!" Whew! I've needed to do that for a long time. I was also incredibly thirsty. I think I may already be less in need of my CPAP machine. Perhaps I'd better make an appointment with the specialist for more than a little finger stick this time. I'd love to get rid of the CPAP. It's been a friend who kept my marriage and heart from failing, but I'd really like to not be Darth Vader at night. Shower time! I'm normally a "quickie" bather. Get in, get out. But today, I looked down and wondered if I might be able to reach my toes without using a stool to prop my feet on. So, I bend down, soap laden scrubbie in hand, and washed my feet! I did a toe touch! Then I almos...

OMG, more weight has fallen off me like I’m a melting snowman or something. For the first time in at least two years, when I stepped on my bathroom scale I didn’t have to do the math: “Hmm…Okay, when it passes the zero, that’s 260…so add what the scale says to 260…” The scale says I weigh 257 lbs as of this morning. That’s still a significant loss since my banding. Call me vain, but I’m most concerned about my clothes. I’m still swollen enough to need my “fat clothes” yet they hang off me like a clown suit anywhere but up front. Perhaps I’d better take a bit more time choosing my outfit today, since I have a visit with Dr. Baptista and a weigh-in. I’d love to wear a certain suit I’ve not put on my body in two years, but I’m scared of being disappointed and humiliated again. Last time I tried to don this beloved denim suit, I couldn’t slide the pants past my thunder thighs, and the duster couldn’t get around the granny flab in my upper arms. (sigh) Maybe I’d better resign myself to a pe...