Friday, November 20, 2009

Little Sleevie Wonder strikes again

On my way home from seeing New Moon today, I stopped by a little nearby grocery store for some soup.  They have a good selection, so it was a big decision, but I chose the butternut squash soup.  Maybe not the best choice, as there's little to no protein in it, but I figured I could just add some dried milk to it. 

I bought the smallest container for obvious reasons, and also because I don't know the nutritional value, so I don't want to eat it for more than one meal, two at the most.

The soup was so very yummy.  After my first bite, I was all, "I'm going to eat it all for sure.  So good!"  I was certain I would be able to eat the entire eight ounces, and honestly, I was pretty excited about it.  It turned out not to be the case.  I started feeling full after three spoonfuls.  Three!  I shoveled a couple more spoons in, but still ended up eating only about a quarter of it before I was stuffed.  I thought soup was a slider food!

Now, it may seem as though I'm complaining, and I can't deny that I was a little disappointed not to be able to eat more of the yummy soup, but there are other meals, and mostly I just wanted to say once again how much I love my sleeve.  It really does its job!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Restriction rocks!

Every evening, I plan my meals for the next day.  My main goal is to make sure I get at least 60 grams of protein a day.  Beyond that, I'm trying to take in around 600 calories and fewer than 50 grams of carbs. 

I've tried some different proteins in the past few days, and have found that I'm not ready for dense protein yet.  I can only take a few bites before I'm full, and it's leaving me without enough protein and calories for the day.

I went back to softer food, but with the amount I can eat, I don't get enough protein if I eat three food meals a day.  I decided on food for breakfast and dinner, and protein shakes for lunch and snacks. 

That's all well and good, but when lunch time came today, I didn't want a shake.  Hmm.  What to do?  I know the way my brain works, and figured I would make my dinner for lunch, then have the shake for dinner, and I wouldn't have a choice then, so I would be fine with it.  It's not that I was hungry for lunch, I just wanted food.  Without the choice for dinner, my brain would accept it. 

However.  I made my lunch (1/4 cup refried beans with reduced fat cheese, salsa, and a dollop of Greek yogurt), and was full after three bites.  I'll finish the rest of it for dinner, I still have to fit the shake in somewhere, and I didn't lose any protein, nor did I lose or gain any calories, and I still get food for all three meals.  Score!

I love my sleeve!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Midway through the third week

I'm not doing very well keeping up with this blog.  I want some sort of documentation of my process, so I need to get better.

I had a bad day yesterday when I weighed in and had somehow gained two pounds.  Why the face?  I'm assuming it was water retention, because I can't possibly gain weight when I'm eating 600 calories a day.  So that sucked.  I'm going to let a few days go by and weigh myself again Wednesday to make sure the number is going in the right direction.

I'm eating soft solid food now.  I can easily tell the difference in restriction as opposed to liquids and purees.  I can't take much more than a few small bites before I start to feel full.  Little Sleevie Wonder is definitely doing his job.  I can't eat a whole scrambled egg.  I, and sorry if this starts to get gross, couldn't finish two shrimp.  I almost did, but I ended up spitting out the last bite instead of swallowing it.  I'm terrified of the slimies.

I've learned that I can't have liquids near me when I eat, otherwise I'll mindlessly take a drink.  Yeah, learned that one the hard way.  Ouch.  Watching the clock to make sure I stop drinking half an hour before eating can be annoying, but I understand why I have to do it, and now I've experienced the consequences of drinking while eating.  I don't plan to do it again.

I still haven't felt any real hunger, though I did experience some head hunger over the weekend.  It was nothing a good fanfic couldn't cure.  Thankfully it hasn't come back since.  I think it was in response to being able to eat regular food for the first time.  My foody brain was all, "Mmmmm... food!  We should eat more.  Yum!"  And my stomach was all, "Yeah, you go ahead and try that.  I bet I can change your mind."  Then my Edwardy brain was all, "Hey!  Clipped Wings and Inked Armor just updated!"  Then I read and by the time I finished the chapter is was time for a protein shake and all was well.

Speaking of, it is time for a protein shake now.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Puree stage

When I started this blog, the idea was that I would have a place to piss and moan about pain or hunger or whatever.  The thing is, I really don't have anything to whine about. 

I stopped taking pain medication two days after surgery.  I didn't need it, and it was blurring my vision.  I haven't had any pain.  My incisions occasionally are uncomfortable, but that's mainly the fault of my cat, who is always walking on me.

Eating has been good as well.  I thought the week of liquids would be torture.  It wasn't.  I found some good protein shakes, had some soup, and had to remind myself to eat.  It was fine.

This past Saturday started my week of purees.  Sounds kinda disgusting, but I'm actually enjoying my pureed food.  I started off with refried beans with some melted reduced fat cheddar.  It was delicious.  I made four meals out of one can of refried beans, and I didn't get sick of it. 

I'm eating pureed peaches with fat free cottage cheese once a day, also yummy.  Last night I tried some instant mashed potatoes with reduced fat cream of chicken soup as gravy.  It was very good, but at first I could only get about two tablespoons down.  I heated it up a little later and was able to get another couple of tablespoons down, but I don't think I'll try that again any time soon.

Depending on what it is, I usually can eat anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time.  The peaches and cottage cheese goes down really well with 1/4 cup of each.  I tried half a cup of chili for lunch, and was full about halfway through.

It's going to take some time before I get used to serving myself just a small dollop of food.  My eyes might literally be bigger than my stomach now.  I tend to start with half a cup because I just can't fathom that a quarter cup will be enough.  For the most part, it is plenty.  Maybe even too much.  For instance, my meal plan suggests a snack of 1/4 cup of hummus.  I ended up eating one tablespoon instead.  That's not to say I won't have another tablespoon of hummus later, because I fucking love hummus, but even then, it'll still be half of the suggested serving. 

Taste-wise, I've enjoyed the pureed food I've tried so far.  Quantity-wise, I'm not feeling deprived at all.  I get full quickly, and I'm never hungry.  Ever. 

As of yesterday, I was 14 pounds down from my weigh-in right before surgery, and 28 pounds total since starting the pre-op diet.  So cool!  I want to keep weighing myself every morning, but that will only lead to frustration.  I'll try to keep it to once a week.  It'll be twice this week, but that's because I'll be weighed when I see my nutritionist Thursday morning.

All in all, I'm loving my sleeve!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I did a bad thing...

... but it worked out, so I think it's ultimately a good thing. 

I was prescribed an acid blocker, but I can't start taking it until Saturday.  It's a big capsule that's too big for me to swallow, so I have to wait until I can eat things like applesauce, so I can sprinkle the insides of the capsule on it.  Until then, I was advised to take a liquid OTC antacid to protect my banana until I could start taking the good stuff.

I've been taking Maalox, but it really doesn't work anywhere near as well as my OTC Prilosec.  I'm not supposed to take the OTC Prilosec, because the pill is bigger than a baby aspirin and it might get stuck.  But I felt confident that I could swallow it in such a way that it went down the long way rather than the wide way. 

I probably shouldn't take such chances, but I did, it went down fine, and now my banana will be protected from acid, rather than just having the acid masked by chalky Maalox.

Could've been worse

My teeny tummy had no disagreement with the tomato soup, so that was nice.  Was it yummy?  No, not really.  I was hoping for "Mmmmmm... tomato soup." (which now has me thinking about Joey's, "Mmmmmm... noodle soup.")

Anyway.

I didn't say, "Mmmmm... tomato soup."  It was more along the lines of, "Hmmmm... warm ketchup?"  Not so savory.  Still, it was something other than a protein shake and a little heartier than broth, so it wasn't all bad.  It just takes so freakin' long to finish.  An hour later, I still hadn't eaten the entire half-cup of soup, and I was sick of heating it up, so I decided I was done. 

I'll have more for dinner tonight, though, because I already opened the can and I don't want it to go to waste.  I never before believed labels that claimed there were four servings inside, but now I understand.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Change in tastes

I was warned before surgery that I shouldn't stock up on any protein shake brand or flavor just because I liked it before surgery.  Now I understand why.  I've found one powder flavor and two brands of ready to drink shakes that I can't drink now, all of which I tried and liked well enough when I was on the pre-op diet.

And it's not that I just don't like them.  Well, the Atkins shakes were more along the lines of just not liking them, but the other two were absolutely disgusting to me.  Seriously.  I gagged just at the smell of the Unjury powder, and the Muscle Milk tasted like smoke.  So nasty.

For the most part I've been OK with the samples of Nectar, although the tropical punch flavor I tried this morning didn't work for me at all.

Tonight I'm going to try tomato soup.  Real, actual tomato soup.  I've been a little nervous about incorporating actual food, but it's time.  I'm not getting enough calories on protein powders and broth, plus I need to see how my banana reacts to other liquids before I move on to the next phase.  I'm hoping I haven't suddenly stopped like tomato soup. 

Besides the wasted protein drinks, my only other complaint right now is cabin fever.  I want to do something, but I was advised to stay close to the couch for the first week.  I understand why.  With the combination of recovering from surgery and living on about 300 calories (if that) a day, I get tired really quickly.  Just a walk to the mailbox and back left me lightheaded.  Which is why I'm going to try tomato soup tonight.  Even 100 extra calories would be helpful.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Slow news day

When I started this blog, I thought it would be a good place to whine and complain about the pain I was in or how hungry I was.  Maybe that's coming, but so far, I have only positive things to say about my surgery and the after effects.  I still have no hunger.  There's a tiny bit of discomfort when I bend certain ways, so I avoid that.  If I drink too fast or take too big of a drink, I get chest pain, but again, it's easy to avoid that.

If I have anything to complain about, it's that I can't drink as quickly as I'd like to, and I'm kind of bored.  I want to get out and take a long walk or hop on the treadmill, but my surgeon advised me not to get too far away from my couch for the first week.  I was encouraged to walk often, but not much and not far at first, because I'll lose my energy really quickly.  That makes sense.  I'm only taking in about 300-400 calories a day, if that.  And I'm still not getting as much liquids as I need to, so I need to be really aware of symptoms of dehydration.

I'm excited to say that I finally weigh less than I did when they weighed me right before surgery.  It's typical to gain several pounds after surgery because of all the fluids pumped into me.  It was fun to finally feel like I'm losing.  I'm going to try really hard to not be a scale addict.  Once a week should be sufficient.  I'll be weighed when I go in for my check-up on Friday, so I'm going to try to stay away from the scale until then.

For now I'm going to keep wandering around my apartment for 10 minutes every hour, maybe venture outside for a few minutes, drink my water, finish my breakfast protein shake, do some laundry, and probably nap later. 

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Poor little kitty

When I wake up in the middle of the night these days, I like to take my temp and drink some water.  Since I can only sip, it takes me a little bit of time.  I give myself 15 minutes to drink a few ounces, while I wander around my apartment.  My cat is not at all accepting of this.  He's OK with me getting out of bed to go to the potty or to quickly gulp down some water, but this 15 minutes thing is not working for him at all.  He cries and cries and cries until I go back to bed.  He really doesn't like anything getting in the way of kitty kuddle time.