VSG- What a Day of Food Looks Like

 

 Tomorrow I will be 3 weeks out, I glad it's going by kind of fast. 

 

Eating is still very difficult, it's getting better but it's still hard.  The hard part is you don't even feel hungry but then your stomach begins to hurt and feel very empty so you know you need to eat.  Then you try to eat and after a few bites your full and can't even think about food.  I know I am not getting anywhere near the protein, water or calories I need but I think this is pretty normal at three weeks out. 

 

8:00 am  I either have a protein shake, which taste terrible or yogurt with protein powder in it, also 

               gross.  Also, I try to remember to take a vitamin at this time.

 

10:00-10:30 am  I start feeling sick, like I need to eat something.  So at this point I have either a

                   cheese stick, a scrambled egg or some gluten free pretzels.  However, it's very difficult to

                   a whole cheese stick or a whole egg. 

 

12:30 pm   Rest of the cheese stick, maybe some pretzels or sugar free pudding or Jello.  Sometimes

                  for lunch I will have soup and that usually sits pretty well. also, a Vitamin.

 

2:30 pm  Usually a sugar free fudgsicle or sugar free Popsicle. 

 

6:00 pm  For dinner I have been mostly having soup, I tried pork tenderloin last night and it was fine. 

               I only had like 4 bites and chewed it really well.   I've also had Caprese salad s few time and

               that always sit well in my new tummy.  I can have about a cup of soup if it's a clear soup. 

               If I eat food it's about 4-6 bites of food chewed very, very well.  After dinner I try to

               remember to take another vitamin. 

                  

I'm not getting enough protein yet or enough calories but I will get there.  after surgery I could barely get 300 calories a day.  Now I'm up to about 500 calories a day. 

 

I weighed 302.1 this  morning which is kind of disappointing.  They say it's common to hit a stall which I hope I have gone through and I am moving past. 

 

Also, I was able to walk about two miles yesterday very slowly, it took me about 50 minutes but it felt good to exercise. 

VSG Week 2

 

So, here I am exactly two weeks ago today I was just coming out of surgery thankfully everything thing went very well.  It hasn't been easy but it hasn't been horrible either.  I thought I would make a list of the things I have learned so far which may hopefully help someone else.

Thing I have learned so far.....

• I miss food, this is my number one problem.  I miss the ritual of eating with other people.  Eating dinner with family isn't the same, going out to dinner really stinks right now and cooking isn't fun when you can't eat the food you are making. 
• I have had many moments of regret, I hope this changes over time.
• Learning to eat all over again is so much harder then you can possibly imagine.
• Popsicles are a girl's best friend.
• Drink your water!
• It is very hard to get 60 g of protein in a day when you can't even eat. 
• Protein shakes get old very quickly.
• Eat very, very, very slowly. 
• Chew, chew, chew!
• Don't weigh yourself everyday, it's frustrating.
• Time does heal.
• This is a journey that takes a lot of patience. 

I'm still pretty much eating full liquids, yogurt, pudding, Jello and Popsicles.  I have tried cheese, eggs and tuna and I have done alright with all of these but I have to take very small bites and eat very slow.  No matter what I eat I can't eat very much, maybe 2 ounces.  The key is to find the sweet spot where your stomach is not too empty or too full but the difference is about a spoonful of something. 

oh yeah and as of this morning I am down to 304.2, which means I am down 24.3 pounds since I started my pre-op liquid diet. 

Vertical Sleeve Week One Update

So today I am one week out and I currently weigh 309.3, that's a loss of about 6 pounds the first week which I have to say was kind of disappointing.   I've lost a total of 19.2 pounds since I started the liquid diet. 

 

I have already learned a lot and I am already confused.  Now that I am on day 7, I can eat more stuff but the problem is like every time I make food I eat like 3 bites and I'm full.  I've learned it's very hard to get all the water and protein in that you are supposed to get.  I have also learned that you have to figure out to keep your stomach from getting not only too full but also from getting too empty.  I also learned after awhile protein shakes taste like crap.  So I would rather get my protein from food which is almost impossible. 

 

I'm going to try a scrambled egg today and maybe some tuna.  It's the weirdest thing because sometimes you feel so hungry and then sometimes the thought of food just makes you sick.  Figuring out this new stomach will be an interesting journey. 

 

I still have moments when I mourn my old stomach, especially family dinners. 

 

Day 6 So What Am I Eating?

I'm really not eating much at all.  I'm on the full liquid stage two, which means like creamy liquids.  Until today I haven't really worried about meeting my protein goals.

 

In the hospital they bring you clear liquids the first day, Jello, Popsicle, broth and decaf tea.  The first thing I tried after surgery was the Jello and I almost threw it right up.  So after that I didn't try food again for awhile.  I think they keep you in the hospital for two days so you don't get dehydrated, you get IV fluids.  I did eat a lot of ice chips because your throat hurts from the tubes and you are so dry and thirsty.  

 

Here's the breakdown

 

Wednesday, day of surgery, nothing but ice chips.

 

Thursday, popsicle, one bite of pudding, a few bites of  Cream of Wheat and ice chips.

 

Friday, I came home from the hospital and I had some sugar free pudding and sugar free popsicles. 

 

Saturday, I had Cream of Wheat about 10 bites, sugar free pudding  and popsicles.

 

Sunday, I tried to focus more getting my vitamins today and protein.  I did manage to get two vitamins down and I manage to eat a little bit of cream of chicken soup, pudding and Jello. 

 

So today Monday, I decided to mix vanilla Greek yogurt with orange cream protein powder.  It actually tasted good, contained 28 g of protein and I did manage to eat it all in about an hour.  However, I think I definitely ate too much. 

 

I'm going to really try to focus on getting my vitamins and protein intake for the day.

 

 

 

Gross picture of incisions. 

I am Officially Sleeved

So I did it, I actually did it.  I kept thinking I would back out. I was very nervous but everything still kept pointing me in this direction. It just felt like I was doing the right thing. I had my surgery here in Buffalo, NY at ECMC.  They were wonderful.  I spent two nights in the hospital which I actually liked because I needed a break from the kids. If I was home I would of had to take care of them and that just wouldn't be possible. I barely saw my doctor at all which I though was kind of weird but I guess they do their job and leave you alone. I feel very blessed to have had no complications yet. I haven't been able to eat too much but today I got two vitamins in and I am going to try some soup.  I am four days out and I beginning to feel like myself again. I actually feel hungry. I'm not sure if it's head hunger or real but I feel it.  

This was my view from my nice private room.  

This is me finally home and full of gas pain which is quiet better today. I'm grateful to of had two days in the hospital to just concentrate on healing.

I keep having this fear that I won't lose any weight.  I will be this fool who had weight loss surgery but can't lose weight.  That would suck so bad, I wonder if that happens to anyone??