On The Bench: Before And After Pics

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Before And After Pics

I had gastric bypass surgery on December 18, 2007 and so far I have lost 54 lbs. So at this time I would like to add some before and after pictures. I've been receiving alot of feedback from people who say they can tell that I've lost but the only place I can truly tell is in my face so lemme start with that.

This one was taken about a year ago:

This one was taken 1 month post-op:

This one is a body shot taken a couple months before surgery.

This one is 1 month post op.

Here's a couple face shots I took over the weekend....Notice the new do?

I think all the pics can be clicked on to see a larger version. Well I have been working on this blog all night and it is very late or pretty early however you look at it so I am off to bed. I need my beauty sleep.

Peace Out!

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How To Find Your Frame Size:

1. Extend your arm in front of your body bending your elbow at a ninety degree angle to your body.
2. Keep your fingers straight and turn the inside of your wrist to your body.
3. Place your thumb and index finger on the two prominent bones on either side of your elbow, measure the distance between the bones with a tape measure.
4. Compare to medium-framed chart below. Select your height based on what you are barefoot. If you are below the listed insches, you frame is small, if you are above your frame is large.
4'10" to 5'3" - 2 1/4" - 2 1/2"
5'4" to 5'11" - 2 3/8" - 2 5/8"
6'0" - 2 1/2 - 2 3/4"

Today's Recipe

Today's Recipe comes from Youtube from a wonderful friend I have had the fortune to meet through documenting our weightloss journeys on youtube. This is her video:

Strawberry-Pineapple Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 scope of your favorite unflavored protein powder

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup water

6 oz. cup of nonfat yogurt

6 strawberries

2 Tbsp crushed pineapple

2 Tbsp flax seed meal

non calorie sweetener

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well blended.

This makes a pretty thick smoothie so you may want to add more water if you prefer it thinner. I first tried this without the yogurt and it was a bit gritty but the yogurt just made this smoothie...it is wonderful.

Coconut milk can be bought on the internet or you can make it yourself. I made mine myself(scroll down for directions) with a regular coconut. You can also buy desiccated Coconut which would save you some time and hard work at: www.coconutoil-online.com/desiccated%20coconut.html Once you get to this site if you will go a 3rd of the way down it will tell you how to make coconut milk from desiccated coconut.

Flax Seed Meal can be bought at your local grocer, I found mine at Krogers in the health food section it was near the medicine isle. If you can't find flax seed meal you can use any type of fiber such as Benefiber but the flax seed meal does have many added benefits besides the fiber.

To prepare a coconut:

Pierce the eyes of the coconut and drain the coconut liquid and set the liquid aside to use later.

Place the coconut on a rack for 30 mins. in a 325 degree oven. Remove from oven and let cool for a bit and then crack it with a hammer so the shell breaks into several pieces.

You need to cut the brown stuff off the coconut once you remove it from the shell. To do this using a knive start to peel the back off...this isn't easy and you could easily hurt yourself so be careful. I found it easier to take larger pieces and put it on its side and cut it like you would and onion but just peeling the skin. Another thing I found helpful was to cut the backing off while running water over it.

Once you remove all the backing cut in to very small cubes and place in a blender. I warmed the unused coconut liquid and water in a pan...you just want it warm not boiling because that will shatter the glass on the blender. You only want it about tap water hot.

Put the liquid in to just cover the coconut chunks and blend real good.

Take cheesecloth and cover a screen type strainer and place on top of a bowl. Pour out the coconut mix into the cheese cloth and then gather the sides and squeeze the liquid through the strainer into the bowl. Repeat until all the coconut has been strained.

Take coconut milk and run it through the strainer into another bowl or glass to make sure all the coconut particles are removed.

Poured the coconut in an empty water bottle and let it sit in the frig over night.

The coconut milk stays good for 2 days. You can discard the coconut meat or put it into a plastic bag and save it to make other recipes that call for coconut.

If you decide to buy desiccated coconut instead just start with the blender and water and follow the directions from there.

Desiccated Coconut is the coconut meat in pure form without additives or sugar. With the ingredients I have listed here this will make you several shakes so you may want to cut it in half or share it with a friend. It might possibly be ok to freeze both the smoothie and the coconut milk but I have not found where you can do that on the net as of yet. Feel free to create your own version of this, you could use just the pineapple and coconut and it would be like a pina colada or you may not like the flax seed meal in it at all its whatever works for you!! Nutritional Value: Unfortunately the recipe I got didn't mention what the serving size was though I am assuming it is based on the ingredients listed... heres what I know for sure per the recipe: *Each serving has 11 grams effictive carbohydrate plus 7 grams of fiber, It has a whooping 31 grams of protein, and 654 calories. The nonfat yogurt has no fat but it has 11g of sugar, 90cal., 16 carbs, and 7g of protein...this is already added to the amount above. The crushed pineapple in pineapple juice has 35 cal. 0 fat, 7.5 g of sugar, 1 g fiber, and 65 mg of potassium. This also is already added to the values above. This is a time consuming process making the coconut milk yourself. You could easily buy dissected coconut from the internet, a health food store, or your local market. You can also find the milk too at these places but be sure to read the ingredients for sugar and fat content. It was also mentioned to me that you might try using coconut extract and then subsituting with another type of liquid.

I found this recipe somewhere on the net but changed it to my liking.

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Before And After Pics

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