Weigh Day Tuesday

Weighed in today and was down another of couple pounds, thankfully, to 210. It sure does seem to be peeling off slowly. That makes it 62+ pounds from my all-time high of 273, and 46 pounds since my surgery Dec. 27.

I'm not complaining. Slow but sure is good. And every time I think I'm stalled FOREVER, then I drop a couple of pounds.

Feels like I'm moving in slow motion sometimes. S'OK. Hope my skin is keeping up. 

An electrical wire on a pole by my next-door neighbor's house exploded with a cascade of sparks a couple of hours ago and apparently knocked a bunch of the neighborhood including darlin' daughter, but not me, out of power. Left a live wire out in the street for awhile. OG+E guys are still out there working. Love those guys. Everybody in the neighborhood reacted by gathering on one of the popular porches and drinking wine after we were sure things were taken care of. Was worried that the stuff would catch my neighbor's house on fire.

Must run off to cross the river aka hitting the rack.

Onward,
Carol

60 Pounds Gone and I've Been Busy

Just when I was getting down about hitting yet another plateau, I hit the scale dry and unpainted this morning for Tuesday Weigh Day, and found I'd crossed the 60-pound loss mark. While I'm happy to have peeled off a couple more pounds, I'm so grateful for life and my loved ones.

The remnants of two mobile homes pulverized in Woodward.

I've been busy the past few days and it's not going to let up this week. Sunday morning, I got a call from a major New York newspaper asking if I'd string for them in Woodward, Okla., where they had severe tornado damage overnight. It was about a three-hour drive, and I was out the door in about 45 minutes -- laptop, iPad, iPhone, tape recorder and notepad in hand.

Here's a pic I snapped with my iPhone of some of the worst damage at Woodward's Hideaway Mobile Home Park. (I did have a professional photographer with me, and his pictures are more riveting than this.) This is the pulverized remnants of two mobile homes, and I'm posting it for my friends who live in mobile homes. Please, PLEASE don't ever try to shelter during a tornado warning in a mobile home. It just isn't worth it. As you can see, there is a heap where one home was. The other one is on top of another heap two homes to the left of my snapshot. All six fatalities occurred in this park, where the sirens didn't go off because apparently the tornado had already knocked out the power. I'd also urge my friends to go out and get a battery-operated weather radio, which might have saved some of these lives.

There are also many stories of survival in this mobile home park, set on top of a beautiful hill looking out over verdant (for now) green pastures. An 18-year-old girl, eight-months pregnant, was found under the rubble of another home, rushed to the hospital and now she and her baby are doing fine.

Off to master gardener class for me, but life is good and we are all lucky to have this day.

Onward,
Carol





 

Baba Ghanoush -- Eggplant Goodness

Baba Ghanoush

Today was my day to help with refreshments for my Master Gardener class and I brought some of my favorite homemade, low-fat Baba Ghanoush, a Lebanese dip of eggplanty and herby goodness, which seemed popular with my fellow master gardening interns. I was concerned that the ranch-style, mayonnaise-based dip that usually comes with the grocery store's veggie tray couldn't be left out all day during the class, so this was perfect.

Baba Ghanoush is another one of those recipes that, with the exception of the time it takes to roast your eggplant, is light years better when you make it fresh and it is so fast to make. It's always a good sign when you get asked for the recipe, so here 'tis.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant or several small eggplants
1 minced garlic clove
Juice from half a small lemon
1/2 t. lemon zest
1 T. tahini (sesame paste)
1 1/2 T. olive oil
1 t. ground cumin
1 T. fresh parsley and more to garnish
Salt and pepper

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poke holes in the eggplant with a fork about an inch apart. Roast the eggplant for 35 minutes, remove from oven and let cool completely, then remove stem and peel. Alternatively you could also use your grill and cook it until the flesh is tender and skin has turned brown.  My method of choice is roasting because of the rich, smokey flavor it imparts to the eggplant.

In a food processor, put the eggplant flesh, garlic clove, lemon juice, lemon zest, tahini, olive oil, cumin and parsley. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with extra parsley. Serve with vegetables or pita chips.

Today was my weekly Weigh Day, and I'm still stuck, stuck, stuck in a stall at 217 pounds, with 55 pounds gone. But I know staying the course will eventually get it going again. Hoping I'll make it to my goal of 215 by Easter Sunday. ;-)

Onward,
Carol

Eight Week Weigh-In

Today, I notched my eight week "anniversary" since my Dec. 27 gastric sleeve surgery and there's good and bad news.

It's Tuesday Weigh Day and I'm stuck, stuck, stuck. I remind myself that I've lost 29 pounds since my surgery weight of 256, and 46 pounds total since June when I first attended a bariatric seminar. That's the good news.

But trouble is that last Tuesday, I was at 227. The week before, I was at 228. Here 's how it 's been going:
Dec. 27: 256
Jan. 2: 251
Jan. 7: 244
Jan. 14: 238
Jan. 28: 235
Feb. 1: 233
Feb. 7: 228
Feb. 14: 227
Feb. 21: 227

I know it's typical to hit a stall when you start "real" foods at four weeks. I'd lost 21 pounds in the first month -- understandable with the liquid diet for two weeks and then soft foods for two weeks -- and then it's been eight pounds in the four weeks since then.

I know two pounds a week average is a healthy pace, but only one pound in two weeks is a tad discouraging. Rationally, I know I'm not eating all that much so the weight loss will resume. Giving myself a pep talk.

Part of it is in my head, because I was almost in free fall the first three weeks. It will get better I know, because I'm trying so hard to do the right things including diet choices and exercise.

For example, yesterday evening, the cast of a stage show I'm performing with had dinner before the show prepared by one of the cast members: a pasta dish with salad and garlicky buttery bread (which always smells fantastic.) I brought boiled eggs to nosh on and a couple of low-cal drinks. That worked just fine. Tonight, the cast dinner is enchiladas and I think I'll just eat before I go to the theatre.

I think I'll make that low-carb Shepherd's Pie recipe for tonight's supper that super-dietician Steph gave me. I may doctor the recipe a little bit. We'll see. If it's good, I'll post it in the next day or two.

Onward,
Carol