hrhlaurie

Oops, duplicate post!

I'm sorry too, I'm also stalled since this is third day of same weight of 238. I'm not surprised since I'm taking in some mushy food, still constipated and I know my body must think it's the apocalypse and has shut down to help me conserve fat and survive. Eventually I'll shake it loose if I stay the course, but I'm running into some problems today. I think what makes these things hard is they're new and seems like every day it's something else to deal with. Even though we know this recovery time is relatively brief, and we know we'll be successful long-term, we can hit a wall emotionally as we struggle along. I hope you find something you like to drink, something that tastes good to you. Maybe you can blend in some creamy Peanut Butter with chocolate shake or some fruit flavor or juice with the vanilla. I got busy this morning and thoughtlessly drank my atkins strawberry banana shake too fast and I've felt sick all morning with pain and then gurgling stomach. I don't want that pain again. First I ate 4 Tbsp last night instead of 2 and got too full, now this shake business. I might just do sips of liquid all day and take a step back from food and shakes. My instinct is to hide in bed all day but I will get dressed and go walk around to keep my body stimulated, as soon as this crazy pain and gurgling goes away. I hope your Protein selections are soon resolved and you break out of your stall!

I'm not sure why my doctor had me on liquids for only 7 days after surgery, then 14 days of soft and mushy. I think I should have stayed on liquids a bit longer so I'm still having protein shakes for breakfast since I like them and it helps me get more liquid in. However, tonight I had some mashed up baked potato with seasoning, a bit of ham salad and a drop of olive oil. I ended up with 4 Tbsp of food which I ate really slowly and I ended up eating it all eventually. Oh, full and miserable tummy, I'm so sorry. I have to remember to stick to 2 Tbsp per meal for the next two weeks. I'm sure this will do nothing to help the constipation or my one day stall at 238. Weird how one set back feels big to me right now. I need to get over it and have a new strategy tomorrow. This is probably the first time I've stressed about over eating by 2 Tbsp so I can find some humor in that.

Thanks, I'll pick up both tomorrow. Tonight I messed up a bit and ate 4 Tbsp of mashed potato mixed with some olive oil, seasonings and a bit of ham salad. I ate really slow and finished it eventually because it was so good but I shouldn't have. I'm full and poor tummy seems to be in shock. Limiting myself to 2 Tbsp per meal for the next couple of weeks. I hate this full feeling. Poor tummy, bad Laurie.

That's great!

Added mirilax to my morning Protein shake just to get things moving. Tried some refried Beans and cheese for lunch and it was good. Stitches still itchy and red so guess I'll call my doc in the morning. Evergy level high and getting my liquids in. Signed back in to my fitness pal and set new goals. I began logging foods today and FP says I should be down to 219 in 5 weeks based on my intake. Can't wait to meet with my nutritionist this week.

I'm at home most of the time so I set the kitchen timer and empty my Water cup. I've done well at the liquids and food timing but have to really concentrate on putting my baby sized spoon down and let a minute or two pass between bites. Today's lunch was a couple of Tbsp of fat free refried Beans with some pepper and garlic to season, heated with a little shredded cheese on top and a small bit of salsa. Mixed all together and tasty! Can't finish it but I no longer livebythe clean plate rule! Had to add mirilax to my morning Protein shake because for the first time I'm constipated. I've always been regular and normal and I don't like these bathroom issues but hopefully it will sort itself out.

I'm going to avoid breads, Pasta, rice and other non-protein foods as much as possible and consider every bite I put in my mouth. Has anyone had pasta made from carrots, tomato or spinach? Curious whether that has some limited nutritional value. I had a dream about pasta last night and I had a big bowl of what I used to consider a serving size but I was using a pair of tiny scissors to cut away just a small bite. I guess you know what my weakness is!

I found the same thing here; support, invaluable tips and advice and kindness because no one here, no matter how far out from their own surgery, seems to have forgotten what it's like to be just starting out. Good luck in your own weight loss journey!

I think I'm messing up this phase of eating; mushy and pureed foods. I'm doing some things mushy and some things chunky that I'm chewing to pulp. I'm going to have to check with Nut at my appt this week. I'm doing well at spacing out eating and drinking and walking and liquids but have not been tracking my Protein... I need to start metamucil but I'm not used to this since I've always been regular and now, not so much. Walking a lot and feeling good. Restaurants not really a problem since I'm not hungry. My weight was due to eating much carbs and dairy in response to what seemed like over-whelming hunger pains coming from my stomach. Now, no hunger signals, no problem sitting with family as they eat and I pick through my minuscule protein. Got some direct criticism today. Apparently, I should have lost weight using the metabolic diet, also high protein and no invasive surgery. I'm losing too fast, not healthy... *sigh* I don't mind other opinions, and it doesn't offend me when someone prefers their weight loss process over mine. I assume they don't understand my situation or procedure, and many do confuse it with gastric bypass. Regardless, I just explain my long history with attempted weight loss, the need to remove the great white shark hunger that drove my over eating and my new stomach I can control. My health risk factors will decrease with this surgery and my awareness of my health and nutriton has greatly increased. We will all run up against people who will tell us we chose the wrong solution (oh, OK, let me go have my stomach reattached and try your diet...) but I try to be gracious and let them talk while I think happy thoughts mostly related to my morning appointment with my scale!

I googled this and it seems to be an allergic reaction to the glue or adhesive used over incisions. Sounds pretty common so I'm using some type of cortisone creme and will call him Monday to check in. Mine have been so itchy, hate it.

I'd love to walk with you, just send me your number. I walked around Prospect Lake this morning for Walk for Life! Eating meat may not be OK, but I ate tiny, little bites and ground that chicken into mush before swallowing so hope those 2 Tbsp were OK... I might be doing this phase of eating all wrong but meeting with my Nut this week so she can set me straight. I probably had the completely wrong dinner tonight of 4 -5 Tbsp of butternut squash soup, a quarter of slice of swiss cheese and half a piece of wafer thin cut ham. Can I have those together? I'm sort of winging this food phase but stomach feels OK and not as much of the gurgling tonight.

I'm down 12 pounds since surgery to 238, and 32 pounds overall. My rings are loose but staying on my fingers so far. I had a couple tablespoons peanut butter and mashed banana but even though I eat tiny little bites, I'm eating them too fast and causing major stomach gurgles. I thought not drinking with meals would be the hardest thing to do but earing slower has jumped to the top of the list. Here's a weird thing, my incisions have started itching the past few days but I expected that since they are healing. However, it's almost like the incision areas are going through some kind of allergic reaction. They're all red, but not like with an infection, but red and some reddish bumps and really itchyskin around the perimeter of the incisions. I don't have a fever or pain and no pus or any signs of infection, but almost like the skin is irritated. Guess I'll try to get in on Monday morning to have them checked out. Went to Wendys with family today and weird that nothing sounds amazing to me. I ordered a grilled chicken wrap, opened it up and pulled a little bit of the chicken apart into little pieces and ate little bites of chicken and some of the cheese and was full pretty quick so I stopped. I thought the first meal of non-measured food, I thought I would have a hard time figuring out how much to eat. Thank goodness my tummy was ready to provide warning gurgles to warn me to stop!

I wanted to answer your question about the beach trip separately. Only a few days after surgery, you will have pain, may have trouble sleeping and will be sorting out what protein drinks you'll like the best. However, if I could have recovered at the beach, I probably would have! Take extra pillows to help you get comfortable sleeping, make frequent stops to walk and stretch your legs, drink, drink, drink! take water, flavored water, different protein drinks and your pain pills. Nothing will make you feel sicker than getting dehydrated. Rest and takes naps. If you never have before, this is the time when we have to listen to our bodies, when to drink, when to rest, when to stop eating, and how to decipher what a gurgling stomach means!

I'm so glad if any of this has helped at all. Sharing my daily activities, my health info and, for crying out loud, my WEIGHT has been beyond bizarre! However, the one thing that helped me navigate the murkiness of a life-changing surgery were the personal stories, advice, good, bad, pain, eating, fears, eating experiences and more that everyone shared with me and other total strangers on this board. We're all united in this journey and should do what we can to help each other but keep in mind that our experiences may differ greatly. I don't know if it's due to our surgeons, anatomy, meds, life experiences or a combination of them but knowledge is power and the more you know, the more prepared you will be. My pain was up and down after surgery and for me, the nausea was the far worse experience. I took the patch behind the ear, told the anesthesiologist to do what he could to minimize the nausea, took all nausea and pain medication they could give me and figured the rest of the post surgery steps would follow. Today I didn't take a pain pill at all but I will when I go to sleep. My stitches itch like mad now, all I do is scratch around them and I may need benedryl or something. However, I sneezed today and almost had no pain, a victory there since I was fearing coughs, sneezes or hiccips for the past week! So, from those first days in the hospital, when they lined up plastic 2 oz cups filled with Water and encouraged me to work my way through them to less than a week later I'm drinking several ounces at a time, along with 3 Protein shakes and Vitamins, to today when I had my first pureed food and am learning all over again what to eat. Think of this journey as a sort of bunny hop through the steps, a couple of hops forward, a couple of hops back, and several more steps forward again. Just as I got the hang of drinking Protein Shakes, now I'm figuring out the mushy and pureed food process, hop, hop, hop... Today I had a strawberry banana Protein shake with additional protein powder added to it for Breakfast. I had about 20 ounces flavored water and then set the kitchen timer for 30 minutes and planned lunch, which was 2 -3 Tbsp of high protein yogurt. Even though I ate with a baby spoon, out of a pre-measured container, much stomach gurgling during this meal kept me eating slowly. I ate slow, listened to my stomach, and stopped before the container was empty. Once done, I set the timer, and then started drinking my water again. Next meal, 2 Tbsp of a mix of mashed banana and ceeamy Peanut Butter. Same eating process and gurgling results. Again, I stopped before the container was empty. Kind of an interesting process but I got in my liquids and vitamins. I guess I'm supposed to be tracking calories and protein and stuff but I'm just going to get the hang of the food eating first and then talk to my Nut next week and let her tell me what to track. I'm feeling good and optimistic and even planning to walk with my daughter in Walk for Life tomorrow. Can't wait to swim and ride my bike again! I think I'll stick with shakes for breakfast for awhile, have a few small meals during the day, and keep each one at 2 Tbsp each and high protein. Oh yeah, and I'm down 10 pounds since surgery 8 days ago. 10 pounds, is that the size of a watermelon? 10 pounds is cool! I've lost a total of 30 since my high weight this past March. 30 pounds is like a whole toddler or something, right! Again, I say cool!

Amazing, good job!

June 6 check-in: 240

Today was one week and 180 degree difference in how I feel. The surgery knocked me back, for sure, weak, sick, sore... now, I'm just starting to get the hang of a liquid diet and I'm supposed to switch over to mushy and pureed foods. I bought more Protein shakes today so I can just add some yogurt and other pureed food just a bite at a time until I get the hang of eating food. I did order 3 containers of the unjury Protein powder to add to pudding, yogurt, Soups and other items. I thought I should stay focused on protein no matter what so this investment should keep me on track. If I do too much, my energy level just bottoms out. I'm not used to this and it catches me by surprise. I already have a bet with myself that I will forget to not drink 30 mins before and after trying a small bite of food. I knew that would be a problem from the start. I thought of putting a post it note on top of my cup with the time written on it that I can drink again but not sure what will work right now. I keep looking at my body and the changes I've started noticing. I think this all might get real once I put on a pair of pants and they are too big for me.

I bought WW light string cheese and will try a few small bites in a week or so. It's on my list of soft foods so should be ok.

Seems like everywhere I go there is an image of some kind of food with melted, gooey cheese or something similar. Im playing every mental trick I know to tell myself it isn't any good and I love my shakes. Lucky me, I get to have chocolate shakes every day... Until this surgery, I never noticed how many cooking shows my husband and I watch on Food network and other stations. Seriously, way too many shows on eating. I'll say this, if you value your sanity, leave the room when Diners, Drive-ins and Dives comes on. Just sayin...

I can see both sides because for many, some foods are kryptonite and you don't want to go back to those habits. When I asked about pizza, I was thinking one bite, not half a pie. Mexican food, same thing, a quarter cup of some kind of mexican food mix, not a plate of tacos or enchiladas. I mostly wanted to see what could be tolerated post surgery. I love grilled fish tacos but thanks to the feedback here, I see now that the tortilla could be a problem, so I'll eat the fish and some veggies from the inside of one taco and still be healthy. I think there is probably a middle ground on some foods but I'm going to avoid as many carbs and sweets as possible. However, if I have one small bite of something less healthy, I dont think my surgery was all for nothing...

According to my diet, tomorrow im supposed to move on to pureed and mashed food, I Tbsp per meal at first so I'll mostly stay on protein shakes and try a little yogurt and mashed food here and there. I feel like I need a transition from shakes to food. Surgery was week ago today and down 9 pounds in a week so no complaints. I keep thinking tuna seems harsh to send down early on but maybe some thin sliced ham and a little mashed banana.

I had a twinge today when I picked up lunch for grandkids and had the urge to eat a couple of fries from the bottom of the bag, not because of hunger but habit. My eating was mostly mindless grazing and now I'm a little confused about where I'll fit in during family get-togethers, parties and my old favorite, pizza night. Seems like I'll be constantly looking for a new normal. You know I'll try a bite of pizza at some point and it will hopefully provide me with enough discomfort not to be stupid again.

So, mixed results on eating some favorite foods. Looks like pizza and pasta may be behind me. The good thing is my last pasta and pizza were sitting my trip to Boston a couple odds weeks ago. Pizza from the North End and a pizza pie that was amazing. I can live with those memories. Some beans and avocado and cheese and smaller clothes, excellent!

Well, I was on mostly liquids prior to surgery and all liquids afterwards so bm's sort of became a thing of the past. I finally worried about what foods might be lurking around inside me so I took a stool softener on day 3 or 4 and chased it out. I haven't had any other activity down there at all. No diarrhea or anything. I'm sure when I start adding pureed and mushy foods I'll get too creative and cause myself some distress but so far so good. Reminds me that in the hospital they were very interested in me passing gas and asked about it whenever they checked on me. I was so pleased when I could report a fart so they could check it off of their list!