crab wasabi deviled eggs

Posted in LAP-BAND, recipe by betty

hey guys! i came back, as promised, recipe and all! so, these eggs are a great variation of your normal deviled eggs. they’re always a hit at parties and even perfect for snacks at work. they’re great for a low carb or ketogenic diet, as well, since one egg has less than 1 carb per serving! so, enough talking, lets get into the details of these easy to make eggs!

crab wasabi devlied eggs

serves six

ingredients:

6 eggs
8 oz of lump crab meat
1-3T mayonnaise or mayonnaise substitute
1-5t wasabi paste
salt & pepper (to taste)
smoked paprika (to garnish)

directions:

boil eggs until hard. (this is the hardest part, in my opinion, only because i’m awful at boiling eggs) i bought this “egg perfect eggtimer” from amazon last week and i have to say, i’m pretty impressed. i still set my timer on oven, but i’m also able to check the egg timer to make sure the eggs are actually fully cooked. it reacts to heat just as an egg does, so its able to show you when eggs are soft, medium, and hard boiled! OK, enough about my egg timer, boil your eggs until they are hard.
peel eggs, cut in half, and remove yolks. set aside 2 yolks (i only used two out of the six yolks for this recipe, but you can use as little or as many as you would like) this recipe is pretty much all “to taste”, i think. i gave the rest of the yolks to the dogs.. they loved it.
set aside boiled egg whites on a plate.
in a bowl, mix together two hard boiled yolks, 8 oz. of crab meat, 1-2T of mayo, a pinch of salt, and 1t of wasabi. mix together and taste as you go. this is where you may add more wasabi and salt depending on your taste. i think altogether, i mixed in about 4-5 teaspoons of paste. i’m very sensitive to wasabi, although i like a little kick, so again, add more or less depending on your spice tolerance.
once you are done with you mixture and its completely incorporated, spoon into the egg whites that were set aside. i tried to fill them completely up, but i did have some mixture leftover that wouldn’t fit.
sprinkle some smoked paprika onto the eggs for garnish.
eat and enjoy!

ingredients:

egg perfect eggtimer:

awful lighting.. sorry!
finished product:

and here are the nutrition facts! i just plugged all of the ingredients used into myfitnesspal. the stats fit my low carb lifestyle perfect!

let me know if you end up making these! i always love to hear feedback about recipes!

28Jul2015

5 months later..

Posted in LAP-BAND, life, weight loss, working out by betty

oh hi! remember me? (i feel like i always start blog posts like this because i’m awful at checking in)

lets catch up, shall we?

work: work has been k i l l i n g me, lately. i knew my promotion to budget accountant was going to be a big step, but i didn’t realize QUITE how much more work was going to involved. in the last 4 months, i’ve been working weekends, anywhere from 6am-6/7pm, coming home, eating dinner, then working some more. its been stressful, but the brunt of the work is over, for awhile at least, so i’m breathing easy and trying to take some days off for mental health.

personal life: did i mention i’m gonna be a momma? EEEEEEEK! i want to scream i’m so happy! barbara was officially 15 weeks pregnant this past saturday! she has a little bump and its the cutest thing i’ve ever seen. i even got to feel a few flutters saturday night! her first trimester was KILLER. she had all-day sickness (not just morning) and had tons of food aversions. no weird cravings as of yet, really. the second trimester has been going good, so far! shes tired a lot, but i don’t blame her, SHE’S GROWING A HUMAN. she said the baby hates showers (he/she starts to kick and move around a lot as soon as the water hits her belly) and LOVES dessert 🙂 we already have names picked out, the initials will be T K M regardless of gender, and we’re using the same first name either way, just the middle name will change. our next appointment is august 10th, so hopefully we will find out the sex of the baby then! her due date is january 16, 2016 which is only a few days before her birthday on the 22nd!

also, i always thought it was so annoying when people would say they were “however many weeks pregnant” because then i would have to sit there and figure out how many months, but so much changes week to week, i get it now! whoops!

weight loss/banded life: weight loss has been sloooooow, which i’m totally OK with since work has been SUPER stressful. i’d rather maintain than gain, obviously, so the fact that my weight hasn’t changed much is fine with me. with long work hours, i used the excuse that i was too tired or didn’t have time to workout.. i’m not mad at myself, i just know my body could have been a lot farther than it is right now if i had stuck with it. my weight fluctuates anywhere from 226-231 depending on the time of day and time of month, currently. but, i have lost a pant size and now wear a size 14! i haven’t been able to say that since high school! my eating has been less than stellar, but as soon as i ‘slip up’ or let myself indulge, i try to get back on track and start fresh. i have to say, i’m in SUCH an AMAZING place mentally these days. my urges to binge have been non-existent lately, even with the life stresses and i think that speaks volumes. i’m excited at how much progress i’ve made mentally over the last few months, which i think, is even better than the physical.

i had a few issues with my band, which i talked about on instagram a little. my band was getting to be SO TIGHT that i couldn’t eat real food, only soft food like applesauce and soups/protein shakes. i went to my doctor and had everything checked out. come to find out, it was just stress that was causing the issues and there was nothing wrong with my actual band placement or anything. she did take the little-est bit of liquid out just to help with getting food down and i already feel ten times better!

here is an updated before and during:

i’m happy with where i’m at, but i would also like to see what else i can accomplish. i’m currently considering a whole30 in september just to see how my body reacts without dairy and added/fake sugars, since that’s the only thing that keeps the majority of my diet from being strict paleo/whole30 compliant! i know quite a few people who have done amazing with the program and seem to really enjoy it, so its a serious possibility.. but… i love cheese. haha

anyways, sorry for being so off and on with this blogging thing! i’m going to truly make a point to blog at least weekly, even if its just saying hi and sharing some pictures from my day! i’ll be stopping back in tonight or tomorrow to share a recipe that i plan on making tonight! so stay tuned!

10Oct2014

5 months out

Posted in advocare, LAP-BAND, life, motivation, weight loss, working out by betty

hey there! worst blogger of the year award goes to me! oh well, just be happy you’re getting a post today, ok 🙂 so! i owe you all a update (if you even care)!

everything is going GREAT! i honestly have no complaints. my life has been crazy busy, filled with work, gym, events, weddings, new babies, planning for big thangz in my own life (!!!), so i haven’t had much free time to just hang out and type up a blog post.

so WEIGHT LOSS! this is a weight loss blog, so i guess i owe you an update on that! as of the 8th, i’m 5 months post-op from lap-band surgery. i’m currently down 66 lbs and feeling amazing! for some reason 66 lbs doesn’t feel like a huge loss for me, but i feel so much better physically that it’s crazy! i can move around so much better, clothes are actually comfortable to wear, and i can actually look at myself in the mirror without being disgusted.

i still want to lose 40-60 more pounds depending on how i look at those 2 stages, and i’ll re-asses my goals when i reach that point. as i’ve mentioned in the past, i’m not trying to be super skinny, just healthy. if i get somewhere between 170-200 i’ll be happy. i still have a stomach pooch, flabby arm skin, and some thigh fat that i’d like to go away, so 40-60 seems like a good number to me.

here is an updated before and after:

lets see, what else. i’m continuing to use a low carb diet as means of diet. i’ve incorporated more fats into my diet to help with satiety, and it really seems to be helping. i’ve done some research on the ketogenic diet and that is basically the plan i am following at this point. here is the diet explained better than anything i can give you, from this website:

A ketogenic diet is quite simply any diet that forces the body into a process called ketosis, whereby fats are burned instead of carbohydrates for use as energy. A proper ketogenic diet calls for the dieter to consume high amounts of fat, adequate amounts of protein, and very low amounts of carbohydrates. Our bodies are used to turning carbohydrates into glucose to send all over the body as energy. When we enter ketosis by sufficiently limiting our carbohydrate intake, our livers start breaking down fat cells into fatty acids and ketones, to be used as energy.

i enjoy the higher fat aspect, because i can still enjoy some things that i normally wouldn’t on your typical weight loss surgery diet which is low-carb, low fat. i get to eat avocados, bacon, butter, and all of the macadamia nuts i want (well, within reason) and still lose weight, which is awesome!

i did complete an advocare cleanse, and cut out higher fat foods and dairy for 10 days, which was torture to my cheese loving self, but i did well and lost quite a few inches! i’m continuing using the MNS products, but it has been a little hard getting the pills in since my last fill. i can take them all, i just have to take them one by one so they don’t get ‘stuck’. i do find a huge difference in energy when i take them and when i forget to take them, so i’m going to stick with those.

i’ve been really into seafood lately, so tilapia and shrimp have been on the menu quite a few times. i also found a sweet kale salad at costco that i’m obsessed with, but had to stop using the dressing, because it had too much sugar and kept kicking me out of ketosis.

pistachio crusted tilapia w. sweet kale salad:

bbq shrimp & cauliflower ‘grits’:

andddd i’ve also had my fair share of ‘treat’ meals. all along, i’ve mentioned i don’t want this experience to be just like every other attempt at weight loss. i’m trying to keep myself from binging on everything bad, so when i’m craving something, i’ll let myself have it. like chips and margaritas! & ice cream, obviously.

i’m still going to the gym regularly, which is great for me! i usually go 2-3 months, then get burned out and stop going. i had a little spout where i didn’t feel motivated, but i pushed through it and i average about 3-4 days in the gym, sometimes 5, but that’s definitely not always the case. i’m lifting heavy, incorporating a lot of superset/drop sets, and doing SOME cardio. not MUCH, but some! my workouts have been really intense with the new plan i’m doing, though, so i do keep my heart rate pretty high while lifting, so who needs cardio, right?

i can’t really think of anything else! fitness and eating, with work, take up a lot of my life right now! i’ll leave you with a picture of the baby, because i’m sure everyone would like to see his face versus mine any day.

xoxo

28May2014

life with lap-band

Posted in LAP-BAND, weight loss, working out by betty

hey guys! long time no talk! i’m 3 weeks post-op tomorrow and feeling great! i’ll give you a quick update, because i’m sure you don’t want to read over 3 weeks of details about my life.

so, surgery.. surgery went well thursday morning (may 8th). i’m not going to lie though, i was HURTING afterwords. i had read a lot about gas pains and discomfort from the gas they pump into you during surgery, but i didn’t have any of that. what i did have was some serious discomfort on my right side from my port. since they stitch your port (to fill the lap-band with saline) to your muscle wall, it can become pretty sore after surgery. getting in and out of bed and on and off the couch was excruciating the first 4 days. i also had a hiatal hernia repair, which could have contributed to the pain.

after a few days, i was feeling back to normal. i was thankful to have my sister there with me, even though i hate having people take care of me. as much as i want to get up and get myself every drink and protein shake, it was too unbearable, and she was there to help me out.

my post-op diet was full liquids once i left the hospital friday morning. while i was in the hospital, i sipped on little cups of water or broth, but wasn’t able to drink much at a time, because i was still pretty swollen from the surgery. my full liquid diet included 2 – 8oz protein shakes, i used protizyme peanut butter cookie (SO good), and 1 – 8oz creamy soup, mixed with protein. for the protein, instead of doing unflavored, i tried unjury chicken soup flavor and was pleasantly surprised! it had a really great flavor and didn’t get lumpy. i mixed it with both cream of chicken soup and golden mushroom. i stuck with the mushroom, because the cream of chicken hurt my stomach.

within the first week, i lost 7 lbs! i know, i was only drinking liquids, and had a very low calorie diet, but i was still excited with this loss. i had a one week follow-up appointment with my nurse practitioner and she was very happy with my results up until then. at that appointment she moved my diet from full liquid to stage 2 and 3 ‘mushy’ food. which is just easily chewed foods that aren’t dry. she recommended eggs, chicken/egg salad, steamed veggies, yogurt, and things like that, making sure i was still getting 60 g of protein in daily.

she also cleared me to exercise! well, not the fun kind of exercise, like lifting, she said i was allowed to swim and try out cardio. no heavy lifting or ab workouts. if you know me, you know i hate cardio, but i know i need to get active, so i’ve been in the gym every weekday for the last 2 weeks getting my sweat on. i started out with steady state elliptical and treadmill routines, but then tried some HIITs to change it up. i like HIITs a lot better because i don’t have time to watch the minutes drag by, i’m too busy changing the speed up.

here’s a comparison picture of the day of surgery and then 1 1/2 weeks later:

its not a huge transformation, but i was wearing the same outfit and wanted to see if there was difference. i can tell in my stomach area, some. also my work pants are fitting looser already, so its helping me remain positive.

as far as the band goes, i feel some restriction in the mornings, especially when i’m eating food, not drinking a shake, but as the day goes on, food doesn’t satisfy me as long. i’m trying to keep my portion around 1/2 to 3/4 cup, but sometimes, i’m hungry with an hour or two. i’ve heard some people refer to this as ‘bandster hell’ because you have the band inserted with no restriction, so you’re still doing all the work, eating very little, without feeling fuller longer. i’m determined to breeze right through this phase until my first fill in 3 more weeks.

all-in-all, everything is going REALLY good. i’m SO happy with my decision. this wasn’t an easy one for me to make. i was SURE i could do this on my own, but i just couldn’t make it work. i have my 3 week follow-up appointment tomorrow morning, so i’m hoping i will get moved to light lifting and a few less food restrictions.

and because i was feeling really good this morning, i took a picture to document my mood. 30 lbs down and feeling great!

highest weight: 303 lbs
current weight: 273 lbs
weight loss: 30 lbs
1st goal weight: 175 lbs

hope y’all are having a great week!!

16Apr2014

i got my date!

Posted in LAP-BAND, life by betty

guys, apparently i’m only good at posting once a month these days? life has been SO busy lately! i’m not complaining, but i’ve barely had a free minute to do anything. my days lately have been filled with work, family, house projects, enjoying spring, and other fun events with friends.

so on to lap-band stuff (sorry if this is boring for some), after 5 WEEKS of waiting to hear from insurance, i took it upon myself to call the company and found out i was approved for surgery march 23. i called my doctors office the next week, thinking they would have received that information by that point, to find out they didn’t have anything. after almost a full day on the phone and playing phone tag with insurance and my surgeon’s office, i got all the answers i needed.

i’m scheduled for surgery may 8th! i have 2 more full days worth of appointments which include a seminar tomorrow and pre-surgery testing/questions/consent next thursday. i should learn more about my pre-op, liver shrinking diet at the seminar and should be put on that either this friday or next friday. i’m not sure if my surgeon requires 2 weeks or 3 weeks of the pre-op diet.

as exciting as all of this is to me, i’m still getting negative feedback from some people. i received a voicemail from my mom about a week ago, telling me if i adopted a plant based, vegan diet i wouldn’t need “to be cut open”. i’ve also gotten my fair share of snark comments from co-workers. this may be the most frustrating aspect of the surgery. i almost wish i would have kept this process to myself because people can be hurtful, whether they know it or not. this has been something i’ve thought about since i was 18. for almost 20 years i’ve had to be mindful of what i put in my mouth, and when i’ve failed at doing that, my weight showed that. i know i’ve said it before, but i don’t want to be 50 and still waiting to experience life. as much as i loved costa rica last february, my experience would have been 100x better had i weighed 100 lbs less.

i just need to keep reminding myself that i’m doing this for myself and myself only. i’m the one that can’t look in the mirror after i get out of the shower, who hates getting dressed in the morning, whose body constantly aches from the excess weight.

i promise i want to get back to updating this blog at least weekly, for no one but myself. so i can see how far i’ve come and see all the obstacles i faced throughout this journey. so if you’re still reading, thanks for the support!

ps. can you just look how little my basset was 3 years ago. man, as much as i miss that baby face, that first year was a hard one with him!

19Feb2014

remember me?

Posted in clean eating, LAP-BAND, life, weight loss by betty

so, i realize, i’m just not the best blogger ever. even when i’m on track with eating and exercising, i just don’t always find it ‘fun’ to update the blog. hopefully you guys understand that! i see that some people are still hanging around!

last time i left you, i wasn’t doing too much, just living life. i did go to new york, which is CRAZY at christmas time. maybe a little too crazy for me, but i had fun regardless!

other than that, i’ve been trying to eat fairly clean, with the occasional treats thrown in on the weekends. i’ve been loving a avocado chicken burger recipe i found on pinterest awhile back. these things are SO GOOD that they don’t even need a bun, which is saying a LOT coming from me!

i also made some amazing filet and scallops for valentine’s day! i don’t love getting all into valentine’s day, because i think if you love someone, you should show them you love them all year long, but those are my thoughts, and i wont go any further into it!

it’s been a CRAZY winter in richmond! i had all but given up hope that i’d ever see a decent snow fall again, but last week we got 10 inches at my house. plus, the temperature has been averaging around 10-15*, which is unheard of in these parts, so i’m dreaming of spring weather, and hope that it makes it here soon!

and, i couldn’t not mention that someone turned 3 yesterday! yep, i can’t believe i got this guy a little less than three years ago! he has pushed my limits more times than i can count, but i wouldn’t trade this guy for anything in the world. i didn’t make him a pupcake this year, but he did get a few spoons of pb and almond butter! happy birthday, scout!

as far as weight loss goes, i haven’t been restricting my diet and i’ve been at the same weight since the 24 day challenge. i know to some people, that may not sound great, but for me to actually maintain my weight, is something i’ve never been able to do. i’m either gaining or losing, so it feels nice to be in control, a little.

i’ve also been going to the gym 3-5 times a week. i’ve been drinking this pre-workout and its helped me get motivated after a long day of work. its so easy to just go home, lay on the couch, and binge watch the following (SO GOOD), but if i drink the pre-workout before i leave work, there’s no way i’m going to waste the product/$$, so i end up in the gym and feel SO much better afterwards! plus, if i go home after the gym and mold into the couch, i don’t feel as bad!

lap-band surgery update: i successfully completed my 12 month coaching program required by insurance yesterday! i completed the other required appointments, as well, which included:

meeting with a psychiatrist
meeting with a nutritionist
receiving clearance from my PCP
H PYLORI testing

i got a phone call from my surgeons office yesterday morning and i’m scheduled for an appointment feb 28. i’m not exactly sure what will happen in this appointment, but surgery is not set in stone yet, because i still need to receive insurance approval. so, lets hope all goes well and i get approved quick!

its been a longgg road, but i still know that in my heart, this is what i want for me and my body. i remember going on my first diet when i was 6 years old, so i’ve been struggling with this issue for 20 years. 20 YEARS. it’s so hard trying to convince someone this is the right thing for me. i’ve received many snide remarks from co-workers/others, like “i’d rather be fat” or “can’t you just eat less and not get the surgery?” not that these have ANY impact on my decision, BUT, its one of the main reasons i’ve kept my surgery to myself ~~and the whole internet~~. again, i’ve asked before, but if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all, because i really don’t want any more negativity on this issue.

so, i think that’s enough updating for you guys today! if you stuck around, thanks! and i promise i wont wait so long to post next time. i want to keep this thing going, i really do. i haven’t found a ton of blogs with the same issues as mine, so i’m hoping this can help other people.

xoxo

Sweaty Betty

..my journey to a healthy weight & happy life.

Tag Archives: lap band surgery