First Post Op Check-up!

Day 13!

I had my first post-op visit today with my doctor. He's happy with my progress and has progressed me on to pretty much all foods that are soft. I'm so glad to be able to start cooking again and trying new recipes! Not to mention, being able to actually chew foods haha.

He removed the taps from my scars (well, still forming scars), there are no signs of an infection. He also cleared me for any physical activity and wants me to push myself on the treadmill. He says my stomach is about 80% healed and I won't be able to "hurt it" with exercise or other physical activity.

I did tell him that I was still feeling exhausted at times, especially while walking. He said it will probably last about another week.

I go back in two weeks, the day I go back to work. Boohoo! Work? Blah!

Last night I had Weight Watcher's Taco Soup (recipe is below) for dinner. I only had a little over 1/4 cup and 2 saltine crackers, it was so good!

The next big goal I'm setting for myself is to weigh 250lbs. That will be my pre-pregancy weight from nearly 8 years ago. That's 17lbs to go! Hoping to accomplish this by Sept 1!

Taco Soup Recipe:

1 15oz can tomato sauce
2 cans of turkey chili
1lb ground turkey, cooked
1 can black beans
1 sm can diced green chilies
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 packet of hidden valley ranch
1 packet taco mix
1 1/2c water
1c frozen corn (I did not add corn because I cannot eat this yet)

Heat all contents and serve! Can top with diced onion and cheese as well.

Do not try this at home! (well...if you're less than 2 weeks post op)

I got brave today, and I regretted it.

I took a bite of chicken, chewed up really good, and a bite of soft broccoli. Wow! I will not be doing that again soon. It felt like a brick in my throat/stomach and I threw up a little.

It was only liquid that I threw up, not what I had just eaten. I think it was the brocolli that did it because I had a bite of chicken last night when I cooked it for my family and it was perfectly fine. No more broccoli for a bit. I think I didn't chew it well enough.

In other news, I am in the 260's! My weight this morning was 267lbs! I've lost 25 pounds total! 10 since surgery (today is day 11, so that's about a pound a day!!) I have a feeling I'm going to stall for a few days...I know it's coming.

I walked for 20 minutes yesterday, .75mile. Today I took a break, but I did more cleaning around the house to kind of make up for it :)

I've been eating around 600 calories a day, and I've been managing about 60-65g of protein!

After I drop 5 more pounds I'm going to take some new body shots to compare to my pre-surgery weight. I doubt there we be a difference that is noticeable in the photos though.

9 days post surgery, additions to my diet.

Today is my 9th day post op. I finally added two new things to my diet. Scrambled eggs and pork rinds....no not together!

Since the doc is allowing me instant mashed potatoes, I figured scrambled eggs cannot hurt. Let me tell you, this egg tasted like steak!!! It seriously was that good. I added a small sprinkle of cheese, salt and pepper. I almost made two eggs, but I am so glad I didn't. I was STUFFED after eating one egg.

I was reading about types of snacks that others have been eating post surgery, and one of them that's recommended to get something "crunchy" are pork rinds. I hadn't eaten these since I was little and I love them! I am able to eat them right now because they do melt away in your mouth. Guess what? One serving has only 80 calories, 5g fat, 0 carbs, and 8g protein! Some have 7g protein and some have 9g protein, it all depends on the brand you get.

I see the doctor in 4 days for a checkup, that's right before my pureed stage starts. I'm excited to get to that stage! There is a really good recipe from "The World according to Egg Face" that sounds really good. It's a baked ricotta recipe! I could probably eat that now, but I do not want to push it. I can wait 4 more days...I hope!

I've been able to do light exercise. I usually hop on the treadmill for about 15 mins/.5 mile and do light weights with my arms. I really want to get my energy/stamina back like before surgery. Pre-surgery I was walking for 50 mins, and jogging for 10 (every few mins I would do a sprint, totally up to 10 mins with in the hr of exercise).

I'm down 22lbs! 15 pre surgery, 7 post surgery.

Air Bubbles! Protein! Weight.

Today is day 6 after surgery. Still trying the best way to eat and drink without getting air bubbles. Most of them don't hurt, they are just annoying, but once in a while I will get some that HURT!

I'm not using a straw, but I am using spoons for most things. When I swallow my food/drink, It doesn't feel like any air goes down with it....but then about 30 seconds later, I feel that air bubble!! Usually just a small burp, but still quite annoying. I know this is very common and it really cannot be avoided.

My scale is still sitting at 273lbs. I was expecting it to be at least down to 270 by now, but I from what I've read, this is pretty standard. My body is still adjusting and you don't have a huge weight loss. As long as that scale has not moved up, and continues to go down, that is perfectly fine with me! I guess now that I think about it, I've lost 19lbs in the last month (15 pre op, 4 post surgery), that's pretty damn good. I think I need to stop getting on the scale every day. That's so much easier said than done though! I'm really looking forward to seeing 269 lbs on the scale because I have not seen that number in AT LEAST 6 or 7 years! One step at a time! Gotta keep telling myself this.

My diet is going pretty well. My meals for the day usually include liquid phase):

1 serving of Cream of Wheat (this makes 2 meals)
1 protein shake (usually half in the morn and the other half later in the day)
1 4oz yogurt (sometimes 1 meal, other times 2)
1 can of chicken broth or 1/2 can of strained cream of ____ soup.
1/2c instant mashed potatoes (usually this is 2 meals as well)

The mashed potatoes I just started yesterday, I tried to have them on day 4 but my body was not ready, either I made them too thick or my tummy just didn't want to take them--they hurt going down.

I have to remind myself to eat, which is weird. I've never had to do that before. I am going to hop on my treadmill. I'm going to try for half a mile and go from there. I get exhausted really quickly still. I feel like there are bricks on my shoulders sometimes and this is very exhausting!

My doctor didn't give me an exact number to aim for for protein in my liquid phase. I'm aiming for 50. My protein drinks alone are 30, so I make that my priority! I cannot wait to have chicken or fish again....it's only been a week, but I really want some :)

4 Days after surgery

I'm still feeling tired, or "winded," from the surgery. I just want to have my energy back! I want to hop on my treadmill, walk a mile or two, instead of sitting on my behind all day, or laying in bed staring at the ceiling because I'm waiting for a gas bubble to go away!

Yesterday I got in probably around 36g of protein. Not too bad for my first attempt.

Today I'm sitting at around 20g, (It's early afternoon) but I need to get in more water. I've had really bad diarrhea today (yes...TMI! But I'm assuming you're reading about my journey because you want to be prepared lol) I read some online forums and found that immodium is okay to take, so I took one chewable, and hopefully that will help, so far it has.

Today I cooked a pancake for my daughter...and it looked so good! One day I'll be able to eat a small one again...for now, I'll just keep cooking them!

One product that is really good that I found is Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla yogurt that is "diabetic friendly." It's real yummy!

The only other complaint I have at this point is the weird dreams I've been having...don't know if it's a coincidence or if it's a side effect from the anesthesia still!

Want to see my scars? Well...technically they aren't scars yet! (the orange part of the shirt is just under my breasts, the picture isn't rotated, sorry!)

Post Op

I had my surgery on July 18, 2012...3 days ago. I came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon.

This blog is from a personal perspective with my weight loss journey.

Here are a few stats:

Highest weight 293lbs
Weight Post op 277 lbs
Weight when I got home from surgery 274lbs.

I'm 29 years old, 5'6".

The day of surgery and the day after surgery I had really bad nausea and was vomiting. They finally gave me meds that helped with it. If I weren't vomiting, they were going to let me go home the day after surgery.

This is the first surgery I've had where I was put to sleep. (I've only had a c-section and was awake for that) I had no idea what to expect. I remember going into the surgery room, only a few minutes after meeting with my doctor again and his nurse, them having me move onto the surgical table, lay my arms out, and hearing rock & roll playing in the background, and the next thing I know the anesthesiologist is placing a mask on me telling me to take in 3 deep breaths of oxygen...and then BAM next thing I know I'm in recovery.

The first thing out of my mouth to the nurse was that the "anesthesiologist lied to me. It was not oxygen he was giving me!" haha I thought that was pretty funny. I think I caught the nurse off guard.

My stomach pain isn't too bad. It does get uncomfortable when trying to rest. I do find myself waking up every 2-3 hours overnight, and needing to get up and walk around for a minute.

As for food...it's really weird not eating! I finally drank an entire protein shake (over a 24hr period), a yogurt, and chicken broth. I'm very gassy but nothing really comes out...you just feel bubbles.

The only thing I'd really complain about is being so tired!! I joined a forum (verticalsleevetalk.com) and asked if anyone else felt like this, and the best way it was put is that it's like "jet lag" from the anesthesia. I should feel better about 7 days out post-op. I just want to start exercising again and getting this weight off!

Wish me luck!
Here is my "before" picture.