What's on your Wednesday Menu?

Good morning everyone! Happy Hump Day!

I need to do this quick again, despite the fact that it's before 4:30am...I need to log on to work and get started ASAP, I have so much to do that it hurts! We keep getting "bombs" thrown at us at these meetings that are creating so much more work, but since we are in meetings back to back all day, the work has to happen on off hours. Very frustrating!

As a reminder, today will be my last post for a few weeks while I try to claw as much time back as I can while my busy season at work ramps up. I am going to use my mornings to pack my meals like I would if I was leaving the house and I will bring it to my "office" with me in the morning, because I don't see a break anywhere on my calendar until the end of the month!

QOTD: Help me out this month...what are your tricks for avoiding burn out? I am terrible at this. My tip for not feeling overwhelmed at work is to do more work. Good for the short term but terrible for avoiding long-term burn out. I'd love to hear how you have been successful!

Yesterday was still good with accountability but I switched up lunch to be quicker / easier to grab, and I also added a 1/4 of nuts. I ended the day at 810 calories, so not a disaster. I also did a quick bike ride on the iFit. It was a beautiful ride in Norway and a nice way to start the day :) Planing to get a super quick jog in right now before starting work.

See you all in a month! XOXO

I write down every task that I need to do, assign a time to it. Then I remind myself that nobody but me cares whether I start a load of white towels at 8:45 AM or don't get to them for a few days. My way to not get burned out is to stick to my plan 80% of the time and to allow myself to slack off when I need to.

Good luck with you several crazy weeks JB!

QOTD - I won't give you advice on how to get through the work -- you've got that! You're amazing and you'll get through this!

On the balance/burnout -- it can be very easy to focus on the work and become that works all the time, logs off, goes to sleep, gets up and do it again person-- but that's madness. When I have cycles like that I make sure to pick one thing a weekend for me....so squeeze in the zoom; find 20 minutes for the bubble bath and book....if you can do more than one thing - yay for you but at least one thing is self care. Also, find what works for you -- I would rather work half a day Saturday day and Sunday and only 10-12 hours during the week but I know other people that would rather work 15 hours M-F and not have to work on the weekends...knowing what your preference is and sticking to it helps feel "balanced". Also, since this is a timebound issue, plan a treat for the end of it - pedicure, spa day, museum visit. 4 weeks of stress is a lot....but assuming we don't time shift back to March 2020, 4 weeks will go by and you'll be done (for this year).

unsure about the menu today - definitely left over taco meat, pizza casserole but beyond that I have nothing planned. I'm also not sure if I'm going to do an elliptical or just go for a walk today but I'll get one of those in for sure.

Happy HumpDay everyone, we're on the slide to the weekend!

What does your pizza casserole consist of? Is it anything like mine?

Crock Pot Pizza

.75 lb ground beef, cooked .75 lb bulk Italian sausage, cooked 1-15 ounce jar pizza sauce 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded 3 cups fresh spinach 16 slices pepperoni

Toppings(optional. Add your faves) I used (* = accounted for in nutritional information): 1 cup olives, sliced* 1 cup mushrooms, sliced* 1/2 green pepper, chopped* 1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped* 1/4 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced*

In a 6 quart crock pot, combine sausage and hamburger with sauce and onions. Place half of sauce mixture in crock pot. Place half of fresh spinach on top of sauce mixture. Place pepperoni and 1/2 desired toppings on top. Place half of mozzarella cheese on top of pepperoni. Repeat layers ending with mozzarella. Cook on low 4-6 hours. Let cool slightly and cut into 8 slices. Refrigerate remaining.

Makes 8 ginormous slices.

I use this one

I do that one as well. I love them both but 2 completely different dishes. Both very yummy and satisfices that pizza craving.

Also, another great trick for avoiding burnout is doing what you're doing by stepping away for a bit -- eliminate the things that add extra pressure that you CAN control. Like, yes, I really should vacuum but what's the worst that can happen if I don't vacuum during the 30 minutes that I have free today? My house looks messy if someone stops by? I can live with that (also, nobody is stopping buy, we're in a global pandemic....let it go). We'll miss you here but good for you for taking control and making a plan!!

Good morning all! Had a nice virtual visit with my bariatric NP yesterday. We discussed excess skin and plastic surgery. That freaks me out so much.....so much more than my actual WLS! And I have no clue why. She asked me if I was having any issues with the excess skin in which I told her no. I mean I wi**** were gone, but I have no medical issues and it's not bothering me physically. She seems to think it might be, but I'm just so used to it now that I don't notice it. She also said that some of my excess weight is probably excess skin. She wants me to start thinking about it so we can try and get my insurance to cover it. I do want it and think it might make me feel better about myself, but I'm scared to death! Sigh...

Accountability was pretty good yesterday. I changed some things around, but still stayed within my calorie range. I'm also down another couple pounds....yay!

QOTD: I'm bad at giving advice on this because I get burned out all the time. So if you find something that works let me know! Lol

B: coffee w/Splenda x 2

B2: Fit frappe

L: 2 oz roast beef & a laughing cow cheese wedge

D: leftover salad

S: L&F Greek yogurt & a banana

my plastic surgeries were a much tougher recovery than my RNY was, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You can see results right away - it was so wonderful to me to see a pretty much normal-looking body for once, after years of being either SMO or looking like a Sharpei puppy!

I lost 25 pounds since my plastics. If your insurance will cover it I highly suggest it. You will not be sorry. I wish I had the money to do my thighs and boobs. And remember how scared you were before WLS and look where you are today. Winning!!!!