I'm almost 4 weeks post-op. It seems like so much longer. Although many things get easier each day, I think I am entering the reality phase now. Each day has it struggles and some days facing them is tiring. There are many positives, but honestly I haven't felt as much excitement from them as I expected. Yesterday I had my four week appointment with my physician. I have lost 19 lbs according to his scales. My scales were showing less so I was happy to take his as official. I really thought I would feel more excitement about it, but I think I am feeling down in the dumps a little now. As you all know I've been experimenting with food. The last couple of weeks I believe I was too brave and I've paid for it. I've not been sick enough to throw-up, but after eating sometimes I am nauseated and miserable for at least 30 minutes. The dietician told me I needed to eat soft foods for the next two weeks so I am trying to do that now. It does help me feel better when I eat according to the rules.
As I mentioned earlier I am feeling a little down. I am not sure if it is from the surgery, changing my eating habits or that summer is ending and it's almost time to return to work. I always begin to feel this way when summer break is over. Usually I am a little ready to go back, but right now I am not feeling it. I feel tired, but restless all at the same time. Although part of me thinks the routine will be easier because I can begin to focus on something besides eating and losing weight. On the other hand I dread the pace again and am curious how difficult this will be when "stress" happens. One day a few weeks ago I went in for a few hours. I have had NO desire for sweets since the surgery. Sweets typcially are not my food of choice, but savory and salty foods are my favorites. I laughed because while in the office I immediately felt a craving for a butterfinger. That would be because our office is always full of candy and there is a drawer full of fun sized butterfingers. I hope as the year becomes stressful I can handle not having food as a source of comfort. After a long, hard day at work I love to go out to eat Mexican food or just have a nice, yummy meal at home. Although I still eat (a few tablespoons), the entire eating experience has changed. It is over in a matter of minutes. Nibbling and savoring a couple of extra bites are out of the question unless I want to feel pain and pressure. I miss the nibbling after the meal more than the actual meal itself. We have continued to eat out, but it is still hard to order a small enough portion. We are still working through the process trying not to order too much food. We ALWAYS have leftovers. The bad thing is leftovers don't settle well when re-heated. The dietician shared that re-heating food makes it more difficult to digest. I know I need to replace my stress "go to" with something besides food. The bad thing is I haven't found anything I like as well as food when I want to wind down. Some people (a friend of mine) and I will not mention names says gastric bypass is the easy way to lose weight. It isn't the easy way for me. I believe losing it on my own was easier than losing it from surgery. Don't get me wrong, you have no choice but to lose it, so you will lose weight. However, not having the choice is HARD. When you are sick of the whole thing and you just want to be done and eat whatever you want, you can't. However, the desire to eat is still just as strong. I was thinking about the process today and comparing it to having a good friend that you know is a bad influence in your life. You know you shouldn't hang around the person because they bring out negative in you or keep you from being successful, yet you like to be with them. You miss them when you decide to put some distance between the two of you. You actually grieve their friendship though you know it's best to stay away. I think that is the way I feel about food. I know too much is bad for me, terrible for my health, the way I feel, yet I miss it and I grieve for it. For me I feel like I am disciplined in many areas of my life and I've never liked having to feel disciplined when it camed to eating. I didn't want to think about counting calories or carbs or exercising.
We are considering a weekend at the beach since we didn't get a vacation. I figure food should be really cheap. Again, it is difficult thinking about vacation because to me vacation typically means good food, nice restaurants, etc. However, I am going to try and enjoy the beach and shopping. I do love both of those. Hopefully as the weight continues to drop my excitement will increase. I think once everything in my closet is too big, I will feel lots of excitement.
Latest Cravings
McDonalds little hamburger
French Fries
Chips and Salsa and Guacamole Dip
Salad
Isn't it funny that salad is on my list? I asked the dietician when I could have a salad. She told me that was her biggest question from bariatric patients. She is a WLS person herself and said she never wanted salad because it was healthy. I find it odd that all of fatties crave salad now.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Experimenting with Food
2 Weeks Post-Op
To begin I can report weight loss since I have hit a 10 pound goal. As of this morning I have lost 14 lbs. Honestly, I was hoping it was more, but I am impatient. I have lost 5 lbs since last week and I have never lost that quickly before so I am going to try to be patient. When I record what I eat and the small number of calories, I guess in my mind I expect 10 lbs a week. It seems like it has been longer than 2 weeks so I am sure that is why I am anxious for more.
I have learned a lot in a week about the foods I can and cannot tolerate at this time. I've been blessed because I have not gotten sick so far. I've experimented with several different foods and have had very few problems. Some foods are really easy to eat and digest. Once you find those foods, you really want to eat them. Foods you think you want, that don't digest as well, you really don't want because you know it is going to be uncomfortable after you eat it. Jerry mentions this often. He likes specific foods now that he didn't love so much before surgery. He loves salad and pizza. He never liked pizza much before but now he says it is easy to eat and flavorful. Most foods I've tried have been soft and agree with me. However, a couple of times I made the mistake of trying something I knew I should avoid and it was a mistake. For example, every year we get tomatoes from a friend that should be in the tomato hall of fame because they are so good. Who can resist a tomato sandwich? Jerry convinced me he would fix me a very small portion and I would be fine. Bread should be avoided at this time. I ate two bites of a tomato sandwich on soft, white bread. It was heavenly for about 20 minutes and then it hit me right in the chest. I felt like I had swallowed a softball. I figured if I walked it would pass quickly. For at least an hour I felt a huge lump in my chest. Even after it had digested my esophagus felt irritated. Without the bread tomatoes are fine. It was the bread that made me feel terrible. NO MORE soft bread for me for a long time. One food that's easy to eat now is boiled shrimp. The grocery store sells them already peeled and deveined with cocktail sauce. They are easy to eat and very high in protein. About 3 of them make a good snack. Soft crackers like Ritz have been easy to digest as well. Last night I was creative and spread light laughing cow cheese on three crackers added a shrimp on each and topped with cocktail sauce. It was a tasty snack. Eating only one thing at a time became monotonous. It is easy to get sick of something if you are eating it in isolation. Both Meaghan and I wanted to have more than one item at a meal. We both noticed that soft, cooked vegetables were easy to eat and digest. Truthfully I enjoy cooking some in the summer when I am not working. I began thinking about how to cook small portions and what I could pair together so we could all get enough protein in our diet. All three of us began thinking of previous recipes and searching for new ones that would work for us now. The first meal I cooked came from a Pinterest recipe. Here is a picture of mini lasagna using wonton wrappers instead of noodles. I used my own meat sauce and ricotta mixture recipe, but put it together according to directions on Pinterest. It was delicious, easy to digest and great leftover for lunch today. The fresh green beans were great too. They are easily digested and a great side. The lasagna is high in protein because of the ricotta and meat sauce as well as the italian cheese topping.
I've increased my exercise. Instead of walking outdoors now, I have moved inside to the gym to avoid the heat. I've been able to walk on the treadmill easily for thirty minutes. I don't walk at the pace I did before surgery, but I've tried to increase and decrease my speed throughout the walk. In addition, I swam one evening.
One negative, but also positive issue I have experienced is a drop in my blood pressure. Prior to surgery I took medication and a diuretic for high blood pressure. My blood pressure wasn't as high as some, but high enough to require medication. While in the hospital I was off medication since I was taking in only liquids. During my hospital stay my blood pressure was normal as well as the day of my first visit to the doctor after surgery. However, the medication I was taking was a beta blocker which requires you to be weaned from the medication. The doctor cut my dose in half for a week, then told me to take half every other day for a week before stopping the medication. On a few occasions my blood pressure has dropped causing severe weakness. Once I thought I might faint. Today was my last dose. I understand I might still have symptoms of low blood pressure for a few days until everything levels out to a normal pressure.
Good Foods (easily digested)
oatmeal
fried egg over medium
bacon (only eaten right after it's cooked)
yogurt (yuck-Greek is highest in protein)
sugar free pudding
canned peaches and mandrin oranges in their own juices or with artificial sweetener
baked/broiled talapia
lasagna (stoffers/mini lasagna without noodles)
cooked vegetables (soft)
tuna salad
egg salad
tomatoes (peeled)
grits
refried beans
ground beef in sauce or soups
pasta in soups
most soups
starchy beans
boiled shrimp
grilled cheese
toasted bread
Ritz crackers
baked sweet potato
Bad Foods (not easily digested)
bread (soft)
bacon (reheated)
string cheese
grilled shrimp
scrambled eggs
Cravings
Diet coke
BBQ Potato Chips
Chips and Salsa
To begin I can report weight loss since I have hit a 10 pound goal. As of this morning I have lost 14 lbs. Honestly, I was hoping it was more, but I am impatient. I have lost 5 lbs since last week and I have never lost that quickly before so I am going to try to be patient. When I record what I eat and the small number of calories, I guess in my mind I expect 10 lbs a week. It seems like it has been longer than 2 weeks so I am sure that is why I am anxious for more.
I have learned a lot in a week about the foods I can and cannot tolerate at this time. I've been blessed because I have not gotten sick so far. I've experimented with several different foods and have had very few problems. Some foods are really easy to eat and digest. Once you find those foods, you really want to eat them. Foods you think you want, that don't digest as well, you really don't want because you know it is going to be uncomfortable after you eat it. Jerry mentions this often. He likes specific foods now that he didn't love so much before surgery. He loves salad and pizza. He never liked pizza much before but now he says it is easy to eat and flavorful. Most foods I've tried have been soft and agree with me. However, a couple of times I made the mistake of trying something I knew I should avoid and it was a mistake. For example, every year we get tomatoes from a friend that should be in the tomato hall of fame because they are so good. Who can resist a tomato sandwich? Jerry convinced me he would fix me a very small portion and I would be fine. Bread should be avoided at this time. I ate two bites of a tomato sandwich on soft, white bread. It was heavenly for about 20 minutes and then it hit me right in the chest. I felt like I had swallowed a softball. I figured if I walked it would pass quickly. For at least an hour I felt a huge lump in my chest. Even after it had digested my esophagus felt irritated. Without the bread tomatoes are fine. It was the bread that made me feel terrible. NO MORE soft bread for me for a long time. One food that's easy to eat now is boiled shrimp. The grocery store sells them already peeled and deveined with cocktail sauce. They are easy to eat and very high in protein. About 3 of them make a good snack. Soft crackers like Ritz have been easy to digest as well. Last night I was creative and spread light laughing cow cheese on three crackers added a shrimp on each and topped with cocktail sauce. It was a tasty snack. Eating only one thing at a time became monotonous. It is easy to get sick of something if you are eating it in isolation. Both Meaghan and I wanted to have more than one item at a meal. We both noticed that soft, cooked vegetables were easy to eat and digest. Truthfully I enjoy cooking some in the summer when I am not working. I began thinking about how to cook small portions and what I could pair together so we could all get enough protein in our diet. All three of us began thinking of previous recipes and searching for new ones that would work for us now. The first meal I cooked came from a Pinterest recipe. Here is a picture of mini lasagna using wonton wrappers instead of noodles. I used my own meat sauce and ricotta mixture recipe, but put it together according to directions on Pinterest. It was delicious, easy to digest and great leftover for lunch today. The fresh green beans were great too. They are easily digested and a great side. The lasagna is high in protein because of the ricotta and meat sauce as well as the italian cheese topping.
I've increased my exercise. Instead of walking outdoors now, I have moved inside to the gym to avoid the heat. I've been able to walk on the treadmill easily for thirty minutes. I don't walk at the pace I did before surgery, but I've tried to increase and decrease my speed throughout the walk. In addition, I swam one evening.
One negative, but also positive issue I have experienced is a drop in my blood pressure. Prior to surgery I took medication and a diuretic for high blood pressure. My blood pressure wasn't as high as some, but high enough to require medication. While in the hospital I was off medication since I was taking in only liquids. During my hospital stay my blood pressure was normal as well as the day of my first visit to the doctor after surgery. However, the medication I was taking was a beta blocker which requires you to be weaned from the medication. The doctor cut my dose in half for a week, then told me to take half every other day for a week before stopping the medication. On a few occasions my blood pressure has dropped causing severe weakness. Once I thought I might faint. Today was my last dose. I understand I might still have symptoms of low blood pressure for a few days until everything levels out to a normal pressure.
Good Foods (easily digested)
oatmeal
fried egg over medium
bacon (only eaten right after it's cooked)
yogurt (yuck-Greek is highest in protein)
sugar free pudding
canned peaches and mandrin oranges in their own juices or with artificial sweetener
baked/broiled talapia
lasagna (stoffers/mini lasagna without noodles)
cooked vegetables (soft)
tuna salad
egg salad
tomatoes (peeled)
grits
refried beans
ground beef in sauce or soups
pasta in soups
most soups
starchy beans
boiled shrimp
grilled cheese
toasted bread
Ritz crackers
baked sweet potato
Bad Foods (not easily digested)
bread (soft)
bacon (reheated)
string cheese
grilled shrimp
scrambled eggs
Cravings
Diet coke
BBQ Potato Chips
Chips and Salsa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)