Sorry, this post is so overdue. I meant to write 3 times last week and it just didn’t happen. So, here’s a summary of what’s been going on and what I’ve been eating. I’m including some links that I think are helpful; I’m in no way affiliated with those companies.
Last Wednesday was the first time I drove or ventured away from the apartment since surgery. I took my pump out and went off of all pain meds the Sunday right before that. I was comfortable enough to drive for about 30 minutes in total and I went to Target and the grocery store. It took me a long time to slowly load the bags into the trunk, but overall it went well and it was super great to feel well enough to get out and about.
I’ve been having a lot of the Unjury Chicken Soup flavored protein powder (see below). For one, it’s nice to use silverware again (haha) and most importantly, it’s savory flavor is such a welcome break from everything else I can have right now that has a sweet flavor. I turned my nose up, but seriously the flavor is good and the powder dissolves completely so there’s no weird texture in there.
On Thursday, I had my first follow up with my surgeon and nutritionist. I was feeling really good when I went to see them and they were happy with my progress in just 10 short days. So they moved me to a “full liquid” diet a few days early. I’m now able to have things like greek yogurt, sugar-free pudding, skim milk, and strained, pureed soups. I immediately did a batch of my one of my favorite fall soups, Thai Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup. Leave out the peanuts and cilantro, of course. No naan either yet. I use my immersion blender for a fine puree and then put it through a fine mesh strainer. So awesome to have something with real flavor! I was finding myself seeing commercials or hearing about different foods and then thinking “Oh, that would be awesome. I want some right now!” It’s not because I was hungry for that food, it’s that I missed actual flavors and a variety of them in my diet. Being able to change things up a bit has been really helpful.
My appetite continues to basically be missing, which is awesome. My mind is blown by how little food it takes me to feel full. For example, the 2 oz of soup in a tiny bowl below was all I could eat for an entire day (aside from all my other liquids).
In a couple of days (Thursday), I will move to “mushy” foods for 6 weeks. I’m already working on prepping some easy recipes so that it will be easy to pack my meals since we will be traveling over the holidays. Below are garlic mashed sweet potatoes that I put into a flexible ice cube mold. I also plan to have yogurt, turkey chili, and other simple things that I can blend slightly if needed, but will otherwise be easy to travel with.
I also decided to try some cereal from the baby food aisle. I’m not a big cream of wheat fan, so even though it’s something I can have, I haven’t chosen to try it at this point. The cereal is really low on sugar and has a banana flavor. Not a bad option for breakfast.
What I’m most happy about is getting back to normal life and regular activities–well, ones that don’t involve food at least. Here I am on Saturday being a crazy dog mom at the DC Frenchie meet up holiday photo. I’m in purple on the right edge of the tree.
My surgeon highly recommended walking as much as possible, so here I am following doctor’s orders yesterday. It’s been unseasonably pleasant, so I took the dogs for a little 2 mile hike around Roosevelt Island (forgot to turn my tracker on for the first 1/3 mi). Not a fast speed and we stopped to take some pics, but I felt really good (and tired) after a long walk.
The other thing that Dr. P recommended was that I find a psychologist to work with over the next year or so. He assured me that he didn’t think I was crazy, but that this is something he asks all of his patients to consider because he believes that it supports you as you are faced with behavior changes (which psychologists are best equipped to help with). From reading other post-op blogs, I think this is a good idea and I know that many of those writers also see a counselor or someone to talk to about issues that come up. I’ll keep you posted on that.
Tomorrow, I go back to work. I’m a little nervous about being tired, about what questions people might ask and what I feel comfortable responding with, and about what I can wear that will be comfortable. It will work out. I need to get back in to the swing of things.
So, for the actual exciting news that you’re probably curious about…I am down 26.5 pounds!!! It feels great to be losing so quickly, though I know it won’t stay like this forever. I was telling a friend about my progress and she asked how my clothes were fitting. She was surprised when I told her that it had barely started to make a difference in how my clothes fit, but that I wasn’t surprised by that because I can go up and down about 40 pounds without noticing any major difference. I realized that for a normal, average sized person 40 pounds is huge. That’s at least a couple of dress sizes and a significant percentage of their total body weight. It’s not the same when you’re morbidly obese.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m pumped about how much I’m losing already, but I know it’s just the beginning of a much longer journey. I’m trying to stay tempered until I start meeting some of my real goals. I decided on a monthly schedule for sharing my progress, so watch for that in a couple of weeks.
The highlight of my week was when my fiance got home yesterday from being away for the weekend and gave me a hug. He said wow and I asked him why. “Because I can feel that you’re shrinking.” Yay for shrinking!