Diet Archives - My Excess Baggage

Turkey Burgers and Toffee LRD Day 8

OK, today is a MUCH better day. My head is in the right place and I’m feeling really positive being 7 pounds down since last Sunday on the LRD and 1 stone 1 pound down since Christmas (my new all time high) I’ve made some new social media friends going through the same surgery (such a help and support) and they are feeling the same which is comforting in a way. Those who have already lost following surgery are very encouraging with their life changing stories. I’ve had two new food discoveries today. My protein flavdrops – toffee flavour. Zero fat, zero calories. O.M.G. It transformed my 0% Greek Yogurt this morning with only 2 drops. More flavours are on the way (and I love Natural Greek Yogurt). I had this with Raspberries and Strawberries. Delicious!! My partner also added the drops to his coffee.

Turkey Burgers to die for

The other food discovery was a new recipe which was adapted to fit in with the LRD. I need to be honest here because I have moved my protein from lunch to dinner to enable me to have a double protein portion…. I’m hoping that I can get away with this as my daily totals still add up. The recipe was a turkey burger with courgette and feta (hence the extra protein). I’ve worked out that to get 75g of cooked white meat I need to add 25% weight to the raw weight. This meant my packet of 375g raw turkey breast was great for 4 burgers. I chucked the meat into my mini food chopper and whizzed. I then finely chopped red onion, courgette, garlic and added this to the bowl with some salt and pepper. Once mixed, I re-weighed the ingredients and divided by four to get the correct portion. We cooked and then served with green leaves and 30g (dried weight) of cous cous. The burger was absolutely delicious.

Liver Reduction Diet Day One

Omg – here we go, the liver reduction diet starts today. So what is liver reduction diet?

Basically in order for the key hole bariatric surgery to be done the liver has to be floppy and you need to follow the liver reduction diet (LRD) to reduce the size of your liver. I’m doing mine for 10 days. The length of the liver reduction diet varies with your BMI. The higher your BMI, the longer you have to follow the liver reduction diet.

It appears that different health groups use different types of Liver Reduction Diets. Its either a milk diet where you consume several pints of milk and yogurt, or a very reduced calorie, fat and sugar free food diet. Thank goodness I got allocated the food as I hate milk ……🤢

Fortunately I can work my way round the kitchen. My partner is also doing it with me for support and easiness. I have also decided that it will be easier to have a similar breakfast and lunch every day, we will just vary the evening meal. The menu is as follows:-

Liver Reduction Menu

Breakfast

200g of any berries ( we are using strawberries, raspberries and blueberries) plus 125g of fat free natural yogurt

Lunch

75g chicken. I baked chicken breast in the oven with some dry Cajun seasoning on it for a little extra taste. A small cereal bowl of salad plus 30g (dry weight) rice, obviously its cooked!

Dinner

today we had 50g cooked weight Fillet steak finely sliced and stir fried with no oil in a very non stick hot pan with garlic. In another pan I stir fried 100g each of mixed vegetables with garlic, ginger, chilli and a tiny splash of light soy sauce. This was served on top of a 30g dried weight brown rice.

This all sounds like a good start. The bowls of food look great – but – these are tiny cereal bowls and I’m going to bed with my stomach growling!! Apparently after around day 4 of the LRD you become more used to it. I seriously hope so!

On a more serious note, the liver reduction diet HAS to be followed. If the liver is not reduced then the surgery will be stopped mid flow. That information is enough to make me stick to it, hungry and tummy growling or not!

diet liver LRD reduction weight loss

Last day of excess food, LRD here we come

So, my last day of food excess is finally here.

I feel I should be on death row, it really feels like my last day – I will miss my gluttonous meals . So much food to pick from so how do you choose? (Those on death row often pick a McDonald’s).

Marmite i will miss you

Our plan was to have some white bread toast for breakfast (which I know I shouldn’t love, but I do) and then to pick up a sausage McMuffin from McDonald’s on the way to my parents, to help them move. I then couldn’t decide if I should have Marmite or Jam, so of course I had two pieces of toast, one of each. Of my last day of excess breakfast was complete with toast as I couldn’t manage a McMuffin after.

It was a fraught day, moving my parents into their bungalow which had been updated. They only had a few things to move as their possessions were already in situ in the garage and shed. With a 10 am start we really thought we would be home by 2 at the latest. Not a chance!! We didn’t get home until 8.00pm totally exhausted. Unpacking 50 years plus of stuff from a large 3 bed house to a small 2 bedroom bungalow was not easy. My Mother is Mrs Gadget lady….. they both have enough coats to fully stock the local charity shop. Need I say more! (to just make you appreciate how bad it was, Mum has 5 chest of drawers for her bedroom – we got 2 in, and 3 air fryers…!🤷‍♀️)

The highlight of our day was when my eldest son announced he was going to McDonalds and we all had a Big Mac, large fries and drink. Did I feel guilty? Hell no!!! Last day of excess.

Excess Lunch Maccy Ds

Not much thought had really gone into our final evening meal. We had suggested steak but after the days events we just couldn’t handle shopping and cooking. So the last day of excess meal was a Dominos Pizza, wings and cookies for pure quickness. Delicious despite the food coma afterwards. We also celebrated my new life to be with a bottle of fizz, Nosecco as we no longer drink alcohol.

Tomorrow is a new day and new life with the LRD starting. I’m relieved to get going, excited and incredibly nervous.

Goodbye excess food.

diet fast food liver LRD Marmite McDonalds reduction

BBQ’s aren’t always about the meat

Summer time and the livin’ is easy…

With the temperature soaring into the 30’s this week there’s never been a better time to fire up the BBQ and throw on some… veg… Yes that right BBQ’s don’t have to be about the meat. Grilling fresh vegetables with a few herds and spices can add a refreshing twist to any BBQ. Drizzled with olive oil and maybe splash on some wine. Now you’re ready to enjoy the summer with out filling up on meat and bread. What have we tried… Aubergines sliced up and brushed oil and crushed fresh garlic or garlic granules for ease on the grill are amazing. Asparagus is always a winner on the BBQ… Even if your pee smells afterwards 🤣😂😊

BBQ cooking grilling veg vegetables

Rebel Whopper Meat Free Burger

We have 7 more days of Veganuary.

We have tried so many new recipes and have a freezer full of plant based products. We’ve even ordered food from a gastro delivery service – all vegan. I discovered the likes of Hellman’s vegan mayonnaise which I love because its more vinegary. Quorn ‘chicken nuggets’ are a wow. Vegan cheese is not a wow 🤢. We had a plethora of food to choose from but nothing came close the the regular burger from your local drive through. (I can’t believe I’m actually writing this because I usually deny any association with these places or the food).

So, with the masses doing Veganuary, the drive though’s jumped on the wagon and offered a meat free burger. How could we resist? We were straight in there and ordered our first Rebel Whopper Meat Free burger. (And fries and the obligatory drink, all large of course!) Oh My!!! It was sensational. I felt like I was actually eating a proper flame grilled burger. Even the texture emulated a regular burger. My partner and I sat there grinning at each other like 2 children eating their first taste of heaven. We were satiated and it was bliss.

Veganuary has been and gone and from the 1st of February we ate meat again, despite our numerous conversations of continuing to be vegan after the 31st January. (I’m not sure why we thought we would continue being a vegan because once we had a taste of meat, we rather annoyingly switched over to a carnivore diet without hesitation…..) So, the question is, would I have the Rebel Whopper meat free burger now I’m not practising veganism? Of course! The Rebel Whopper is king of the meat free burgers.

I should mention that whilst all the ingredients of the Rebel Whopper were vegan, the Burger itself was cooked alongside regular burgers and on the same Grill. Oh Gosh, perhaps that’s why it tasted so good! 😉

Burger Meat Free Rebel Whopper Vegan Veganuary