My First Lunch Out With My Mom

Today was a pretty big day for me!  I am officially just over 3 weeks out from my surgery and so far I have lost 30 pounds and I have gone down a shirt size and a pant size!  It has been an incredible feeling and I LOVE it!  But also equally exciting was going out to lunch today with my mom and doing some shopping.

We started out by going to a couple of gift shops and wouldn't you know it, I didn't find anything for me, but I found a couple of things for my nieces and nephews.  They always score big when I go shopping with my mom LOL  Then we went to Lowe's so I could pick up a new front light.  We had a really bad wind storm come thru Tuesday and Wednesday this week and it took out my light pole, so I kind of needed to get that fixed.  Then it was off to Super Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann's.

But the best parts were yet to come.  Up next was the quilt shop for some fat quarters.  I'm making my sister and a co-worker these for their birthdays and I hope they like them!  Then, finally after starting our day out at 10am it was time for lunch!

There aren't many choices for someone that is just over 3 weeks out who is just adding deli meat and cheese sticks to their diet, so we decided on Panera Bread hoping to find something with a broth.  To my surprise, they had a creamy tomato soup that I thought sounded pretty darned good.  Their soup comes with HUGE croutons and your choice of an apple or chips.  I asked for mine to go, without the croutons and with an apple.  I couldn't wait to dig into this creamy yumminess even though I was a little nervous about how my pouch would handle it.  Good news!  It went over GREAT!  I didn't eat much and of course didn't touch my apple (I'm hoping to save it for next week when I get my fruits back) but now I lunch for tomorrow too.

As my mom and I were sitting there, I made the comment how amazing it was that after a few bites of this soup, I felt full and it was a good feeling.  Not that horrible, after Thanksgiving, I'm going to hurl feeling, but a feeling that made me proud.  I knew I couldn't finish the whole thing when I ordered (hence the to go bowl) and was perfectly happy with the small amount that I had eaten.  Every day, I find out something new or figure out something new about my pouch and I love it.  I've had more good experiences than bad and I'm so glad I decided to take this huge step in my life.  Everyday I'm doing a little better, feeling a little better, but most importantly, I'm living a lot better!

UGH!!!! Keeping a Food Journal

So, I will admit, I hate keeping a food journal.  But I think it needs to be done at this stage of my journey.  I've been looking into a couple of different food journal sites and have finally decided on SparkPeople.com  I'm really struggling to get my liquids and my proteins in so something needs to change.  SparkPeople has an application for my Droid phone, so hopefully this will help out some.  I'm not hungry at all and most days my pouch is so grouchy I'm afraid of putting food into it.  I need some major help with this before I start burning muscle and not fat.

The surgeon told me I'm going to have to force feed myself in order to get my protein in, but it's hard to wrap my mind around that.  Eating when I wasn't hungry is what got me this size to being with, so I needed to eat less.  Enter WLS.  Now I'm definitely eating less and now I'm supposed to force feed myself because I'm not hungry?  When did this change?  I have tried to adopt the mantra, "I eat to live, not live to eat", but it's not working.

I have noticed, however, that the further I get into my different stages of food the more protein I am getting in so that has helped.  My main struggle???  Protein shakes.  No matter how I make them, I just can't get them down anymore.  Sometimes the chicken Unjury powder is going down, but not as often as it should.

I will admit, this is the hardest part for me right now, so if anyone has any suggestions to help me out, I would greatly accept them.  I want to make sure I succeed in this process and to do that, I have to get my fluids and proteins in.  Speaking of which, it's time for some lunch...tuna salad, deli meat or egg salad, all without bread of course.  Pretty big decisions today.  Have a good one!

Why Didn't I Try This Earlier???

Chicken flavored Protein Powder...who'd a thunk?!?  And who would have thought it would taste so darned good?  My pouch has been so angry in the mornings that I haven't been able to have anything to eat until about 4pm in the afternoon or so.  Well, today, it finally dawned on me about noon or so, that I have some of this in my cupboard and I should probably try it!

Well, I did and I have never been happier!  It went down no problems, and it has 21 grams of protein to boot!  I've been a bad girl when it's been coming to my protein and only getting in about 50 grams a day.  So hopefully this will help me get a little closer to my goals.  Since I'm not up for anything cold and sweet in the mornings I'm wondering if this won't go over better?  I guess time will tell :)

Getting My Toes Wet

I think the time has come for me jump on the Torani Sugar Free Syrup wagon and start spicing things up a bit in my post RNY world.  I am quickly growing tired of plain old vanilla and orange protein shakes and it's only been about a week...this is not looking good for the future LOL

I looked at my local grocery store and they only had one SF syrup and it was Hazelnut...no thank you.  So, I called over to the next city and they have SF caramel and SF chocolate.  I think I might pick up the caramel one and then possibly order some others online.  Anyone have any suggestions?  I'm thinking I want a pumpkin spice type flavor and a peppermint type flavor as well.  One thing I'm really going to miss is the Peppermint Mocha creamer this winter and am hoping to re-create that in a protein shake, which could interesting.  

I have heard though, once you buy one, you don't stop there and that your collection keeps growing and growing and growing.  Is this true?  And if so, am I going to have to add onto my house or would it just be a better bet to start looking for a new house now?

I Have The Best Friends!!!

I have the best friends ever that have been keeping me in stitches since I've been off work for surgery.  One of my co-workers sends me e-mails daily with either get better soon cards or links to blogs.  She sent me this one the other day and I was laughing so hard, my sides hurt even worse and I was crying.  It's called "Waking Up Is Hard To Do."  So, check it out, have a good laugh and let me know what you think of it!

I Made It Thru Surgery!!!!

That's right!  You read it right, I made it thru surgery!  I had surgery October 5 (last Tuesday) and got to come home that Thursday.  It's been a bit of a challenge, but I haven't had any major regrets so far.  My mom and dad were at my side the whole time and a couple of friends took time to stop down and see me too!  I received some really pretty flowers and lots of balloons from friends and family as well.  My nurses and techs were wonderful people and made my recovery that much easier.

I had an upper GI today down in Des Moines.  That is one test I'll never have again if I have a say in it LOL  That contrast was horrible and made me gag, but I made it thru it.  I went back up to the 4th floor to drop off thank you gifts to my nurses and techs and then we headed back home.  I'm pretty tired, but very proud that I walked the entire time, not one single ride in the wheel chair.  I have another appointment tomorrow in Des Moines and hopefully get my drainage tube removed so I can really be on the mend.  I also meet with the dietitian and go over my new meal plans and get to start soft foods on Saturday as long as everything from today's tests come back okay.

I know this update is short, but it's time for me to sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk, and sleep, sleep, sleep!   Thank you for all of your well wishes, thoughts and prayers!!!!!

Well....This Is It!!!!!

I just started my surgery prep, so there's no turning back now!!!! I had to drink that lovely bottle of magnesium citrate followed by 2 glasses of water.  I decided to get the grape flavor and have it over ice.  I mean, how bad can it be, right?  It's grape!  WRONG!!!!  It was worse than the original lemon-lime flavor, if that is possible.  Guess what, it's possible!  It was so sour it made my cheeks pucker and they actually hurt from the sourness.  I suppose now the fun starts.
 
Actually the fun does start, because after tomorrow, I will be on my new journey.  Onto a new me, a better me...a skinnier me!  I think for the first time, I am actually excited.  Excited and truly happy.

Getting Ready For The Big Day!!!

Well, the big day is almost here!  I can't believe it...October 5th will be here before I know it.  So, to keep me busy and my mind off of surgery I have been cleaning like a mad woman with my mom since yesterday morning.  So far we have tackled the kitchen, the dining room and living room.  We rearranged the pantry and went thru all of the plastic storage containers.  We also did the floor in the kitchen and we just got done cleaning the carpets in the dining room and living room.  Up next is the bathroom before tonight and then I think I'll be done until tomorrow.  Tomorrow brings me the real excitement though...mowing the yard, doing laundry and straightening up my bedroom, 3 things I hate.  After that is done, I can finally relax!  But by then it will be Monday and I will have to prep for surgery.  This weekend is going by fast, but it's nice to know that when I get home, I won't have to do anything at all but get better.