Picture Time!

Here are the pictures taken the morning of my Lap-Band surgery.  Definitely not flattering by any means, but they said to wear comfortable clothes.   Needless to say, after seeing the pics, I did change shirts into something that wasn't so truthful!  So here I am, in all my fat chick glory!  You were warned!

Roly-Poly Olie

Big Bertha Butt

Side View
Object is as large as appears

Oh and do you see the size of my arms!  I can deal with my bazonga boobs, big booty and full thighs....but the fat flabby arms have GOT TO GO!!!!  Some of you may recall from my very first blog entry that my arms were my big awakening.  hahaha....get it?  Big awakening?  okay...back on track.  If I still had the pic I'd post it.  My arm could easily have been mistaken for the back of someone's thigh/calf area.  But all that is going to change with me and my band. ;-)

How are things going with the band you may wonder?  Well, I'm down another 8 pounds since surgery.  So pre-op and week 1 makes a total of 15 pounds gone, but my ticker goes by my weight before surgery on 4/2/10.  That seems amazing but I have no idea where it's coming from because none of my pants fit right yet from last year.  GRRRR!  Soon, though,  right?

Last week was really rough, but things finally started getting better on Friday.  I was finally able to drink water decently.  After my post op appointment, Hubster wanted to go to Red Robin.  I ordered the clam chowder and just ate the broth/soup.  Hubster finished up all the clams and potatoes that were at the bottom.  LOL  But I must say it was delicious and I wish I would have ordered some to bring home.  It was very rich and creamy.  I may just make some cheesy potato soup tonight.  I'm still doing mostly liquid with some mushies....like last night we went to IHOP after picking Munchkin up in Topeka from a friend's.  I ordered chicken noodle soup and mashed potatoes.  I used the broth from the soup to thin the potatoes (the soup was not that good, BTW).  Hubster again finished the chunky stuff.  LOL

My favorite "treat" right now is a decaf non fat, sugar free iced caramel latte from Starbucks.  I did mention I'm a Starbucks junkie, right?  It's like my little cup of nothing!  But I love it!

My friend Kasey made a surprise stop today.  She was at the store and saw a smoothie recipe book and picked it up for me.  She's so sweet.  So I gave one of them a try.  It wasn't bad, a bit tart which was nice after so much sweet crap on the liquid stage.  Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Cherry "Cheesecake" Smoothie

2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 c. fresh or frozen cherries
1-1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. cream cheese (2oz)
1-3 ice cubes

To make things simpler, I used "cherry berry blend" that I had in the freezer.

Combine blueberries, milk, cherries and cream cheese in blender.  Process until smooth.  Add 3 ice cubes if using fresh fruit. 1-2 cubes if using frozen.  Process until smooth.  Pour into 2 glasses, serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings.  Sorry - no nutritional values given.