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It's been a bit over a month since my surgery.....

And I cannot believe how much better I feel!!! sure, there are days where I'm tired and dragging....but before surgery I was dragging EVERY day.

Before surgery, walking across the road from our shop to the bank left me winded. Now I can walk to the bank, up the street to the pet store to get food for our store lizard, and then down to the dollar store, and around the block with my son.....no huffing and puffing.

I've lost 60 pounds. After my hysterectomy and after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I could go to the gym 5 days a week and watch every bite of food I ate, and lose maybe ounces, or nothing, each week. I've lost SIXTY FREAKING POUNDS in five weeks after my RNY.

I'm a happy camper! Sure, I can only eat a couple bites at a time, and I have to really keep tabs on how much liquid I drink during the day....but it's all worth it!!!

I am LOVING the results!!!

I'm having a hard time getting in all my fluids and protein. I forget to eat, and when I'm busy, I even forget to sip on my water during the day. SO.....i'm making an eating/drinking schedule and I'm going to work really hard to stick to it until it just becomes a habit. When I can eat more at one sitting, I will change to eating every 4 hours instead of every 2. Right now, I can only eat 2-3 bites before my pouch tells me it's had enough....so about every 2 hours is the only way I'm ever going to get in all my protein.

Also, I'm still at 350 pounds and walking is hard for me at this size. So, I'm going to take several short walks around the block each day. I'm going to schedule them right along with my eating/drinking so that it all works together. :) In two weeks I will be released to go back to the gym to work out in the heated pool....so I will change up my exercise schedule at that point.

here's my schedule:

Wake up: fill up a cup with ounces marked and start sipping. Stop drinking when leaving the house for work to use up the 30 minute wait.

8 a.m. : Breakfast at work

8:30 WALK

9 a.m.: start sipping again!!

10:30 : stop drinking to wait 30 minutes before snack. WALK

11 a.m :  Snack

11:30 : sip, sip, sip

12:30 : stop drinking to wait 30 minutes for lunch WALK

1 p.m. : Lunch

2 p.m. : sip, sip, sip

3 p.m. -- stop drinking to wait 30 minutes before snack WALK

3:30: Snack

4 p.m.  sip, sip, sip

5:30 : stop drinking to wait 30 minutes before dinner WALK

6 p.m. : Dinner

7 p.m. sip, sip, sip

8 p.m. stop drinking to wait 30 minutes before final snack WALK

8:30 -- evening Snack

It's been more than a month since I started my pre-op diet....and today is exactly 3 weeks after my surgery.

I don't have any surgery pain anymore. I do get tired in the afternoon, and my skin still itches like crazy....but other than that, I'm good.

Now, I need to get an eating and exercise routine in place.

Sometimes I want to eat....but most of the time after a bite or two, I'm just done. And I'm really forming an aversion to protein shakes. I'm just sick of them. I do have some soy protein isolate powder....I'm going to start mixing it in my crystal light and adding it to my food, I guess. Right now, I just can't eat enough to be able to stop using it. I don't like the taste or the texture, but I know I have to have it.....so I need to just measure out my daily amount and sprinkle it on everything until it's used up. I need to do better on getting that 60g minimum of protein in every day.

I also need to do better on getting in more fluids. Somedays when I get busy, I don't get anywhere near the 60-70 ounces a day I'm supposed to have. I need to fill up my cup and watch the ounces. I know keeping hydrated is very important and I need to make sipping my water a priority. I get caught up in stuff at work and I just forget to drink, and to eat.

So, today when I get to work, I'm going to sit down and work out a schedule for my meals and fluids and try to stick as closely to that schedule as possible. Pretty soon the schedule will become a habit, and I won't have any more days where it hits 5 p.m. and I remember I haven't eaten since 11 a.m. That's just not good!!!

I also need to get up and walk more until I get approved to go back to the gym (another 2 weeks). My husband drops me off at our shop just before 8 a.m., but we don't open for business until 1. Every hour or so I need to get up and take a walk around the block. Right now, that's as far as I can go....I'm still at 350 pounds. But even though I can't walk a mile yet, I can walk the distance I can go several times during the day. It's a good break from work, a good stretch of the legs, and I need the exercise. I can't wait until I can go back to the gym and exercise in the heated pool there. But I'm still a few days away from that. For now, I have to chunk my way around the block in the cold. I think I will add those walks into my schedule and try to do it at least 6 times a day.

I also need to schedule my 1 month labs with my PCP. I have my 1 month follow up appt on 1/13. I'm really curious to see how that all comes out the first time!

My pouch enjoyed Christmas dinner! :) I kept my breakfast and lunch really light and had a protein shake as a snack before we headed down to the family dinner at 5 p.m. I tried a very small piece of ham, 2 small bbq ground turkey meatballs, a spoonful of stuffing, a spoonful of green bean casserole and a small piece of turkey. I left the multitude of sugary treats alone....I'm not much of a sweet-craver anyway, so it wasn't tempting at all to have to walk past multiple pies. lol.

It took me a long time to eat what was on my plate....about an hour. But my pouch tolerated everything just fine. I do find that my tastes have changed substantially. I used to love turkey....and now, it has a funny gross meat smell to it and I really didn't like the texture or taste very much. Before surgery I wasn't a real fan of anything with barbeque sauce on it....but the ground turkey meatballs were by far the best pouch-pleasing quisine at dinner for me! The sauce tasted amazing! And the small bit of ham I had was great. So I guess my pouch likes spicy flavors and a more ground meat texture than straight out meat like white turkey. I don't get the smell thing.....but both chicken and turkey have a weird scent to them now that I just don't like.

About 3 hours later I had two spoonfuls of mashed potatoes and 2 more meatballs. Very yummy!

Now....the holiday is over and I'm done with that much carb....but I got to have a little bit of stuffing and potatoes for the holiday. :) A little bit is enough.

So I have learned that I can have a holiday meal.....just much smaller servings than I would have had before surgery, and I have to pick out the more pouch worthy choices. And I have to take the time to eat slowly and really chew each bite carefully.

And, I walked to grandma's house for dinner! Even through the snow! They only live about a block away....but we used to DRIVE down there for family dinners! How ridiculous is that??? Yesterday we all walked down for dinner and enjoyed the Christmas snow as we went! Coming back up the hill that evening was a bit hard for me (tummy twinges), but I did it! I wasn't huffing and puffing when I walked back in our door either.....so I can tell I'm already getting healthier, even after just a month!!! :) 

Well, I tried a new food for dinner last night....and it sat in my pouch like a rock for a couple hours. Ugh.

Oatmeal.

I mixed in a bit of peanut butter and added in some protein powder to deal with the carbs in it, and decided to try it. I got through about 4-5 bites and just couldn't stomach it any more.

I didn't dump. I just felt nauseous and grossed out. The texture was nasty. It sat in my stomach like a rock, and just made me feel icky for a couple hours. I can eat a couple spoonfuls of plain grits or cream of wheat just fine....Maybe it's the difference in texture?  I think I'm going to leave oatmeal alone.

Most proteins have been ok. I can eat thin cut deli meats, but I just have to be sure to chew them really well. And a very small amount fills me up. Fat free refried beans are great. Sardines went down perfectly. Tuna (if it's not albacore....albacore is too coarse and dry for me right now) is yummy. Salmon was too thick and dry. Gotta wait for that one. Yogurt. Cottage Cheese. Greek Yogurt. Creamy natural peanut butter...but just a small amount at a time. So far, only a couple protein items have been rejected.

I've been afraid to try too many non-veggie carbs. I can eat 1 piece of melba toast without any problem. I put peanut butter on one as a snack sometimes. I've tried a couple spoonfuls of plain grits and been ok. Mostly I've stuck to a couple bites of mashed veggies....canned spinach, canned green beans, and mashed frozen cauliflower and brussel sprouts. But I do notice that a very small amount of veggie can fill up the pouch quickly....so i take a bite or two of it only after eating my protein. I can eat 1 brussel sprout at a meal, or one small sprig of cauliflower, a spoonful of the spinach.....it really does fill up the pouch fast.And it has to be completely mashable with a fork. Anything that isn't cooked until mushy can get stuck. I learned this hard-core after swallowing a bite of carrots that weren't quite mushy enough. Amazing that one wrong bite can cause such discomfort.....but I learned that lesson fast.  I think that one spoonful of veggies at a meal is important though because I notice if I have just a bit of veggie at each meal, that I go to the bathroom regularly without any help from Miralax.

I'm 2 1/2 weeks out from surgery. I'm basically pain free except for a twinge here and there. I'm able to drink liquids pretty easily. I have no problems with pureed foods, and can handle some softer regular foods like cheese, thin sliced deli meat, creamy peanut butter, mashed veggies, etc. But anything coarser than that is still a no-no. I haven't dumped on anything yet....but I really haven't tried more than a couple things with more than a small amount of carbs in it. I have only thrown up once.....and it was only one bite of carrots that were still too fibrous for my pouch to approve.

I walk up and down the block outside our shop several times a day. I can't go very far yet before I'm worn out and getting twinges from my tummy....I think it's because I still weigh so much. I've dropped from the 390's to the 350's since surgery....but 350 pounds is still ALOT of extra weight! I can do my 1 mile Leslie Sansone walking workout though....it's basically 18 minutes of marching in place. The only problem with the workout is that I find it boring....so I think what I can do is put on a movie or something, and then do all the same moves (marching, side steps, little kicks, knee lifts) for 18-20 minutes during the show. That ought to build up my strength so that I can walk further outside. We live in a small town and I'd love to be able to walk around the downtown area where our shop is....it's that quaint small town nostalgic sort of area. :) The 1 block I can go now will increase over time until I can take a "real'' walk each morning before opening. :) And another one in the evening with my son. :) 
Just gotta work up to it!

I'm finding that I am getting sick of food. I have a set eating schedule and I stick by it, but I'm finding that I just don't feel the same way about food that I used to.

I'm really surprised.....I spent years addicted to food. It was important to me, and I spent a lot of my day thinking about food, preparing food, eating food, buying food.....

And now.....blah blah blah. I'm finding that now eating is becoming something I just have to do....not something I enjoy. I put a few dollops of whatever I get to eat on my plate.....and after a couple bites I'm pretty much done. And certain foods I loved before surgery now just really gross me out. Like pasta.....I used to love the stuff and thought I would really miss it. My husband made macaroni and cheese the other night, and I couldn't stand how it smelled and certainly didn't want to eat it. Sugary stuff smells pretty nasty to me too. The sugar scent of stuff like cookies and doughnuts is just overpowering to me....too much. Just unappetizing.

And some foods....like low fat turkey lunchment....just seem to have little to no taste to me now. It goes down fine....but it just doesn't taste good to me anymore.

Interesting changes!

There have been some positive changes towards food too. Some foods that I enjoyed before surgery, I really really like now. When light fish got added to my allowable foods, I thought I would give sardines a try.  They taste AMAZING!! :) And I also tried soft feta and goat cheese...awesome! I used to loathe plain yogurt....I think it tastes great now. I add it in when I'm scrambling an egg to make it a little softer on my pouch, and I put a little dollup on my T of veggies at supper. And taco sauce ---- it tastes so awesome! I don't complain about getting to have a T of refried beans....with just a dab of cheese and some taco sauce it is totally satisfying to me! And, my pouch tolerates soft cooked brussel sprouts and cauliflower as well -- two of my favorite veggies! Decaf coffee goes down just fine too. Spices just really "pop'' for me now....6 pepper blend, sage, oregano.....they smell and taste amazingly good. And I don't mind milk now either. I used to really dislike milk before surgery. Now, it has a bit of a different flavor for me....I don't mind it now. But....even with foods I like....after 2-3 bites, I'm done.

I'm not feeling deprived. I'm not starving. I'm not having cravings or wishing I could eat more. I'm kinda going the other way. If I get busy, I forget to eat. I have to watch the clock and eat at scheduled times, or I wait too long and start getting "feed me'' signals from my body. I know when my hands start shaking and I start feeling faint, that I'm off my schedule and need to eat something right away.

I'm keeping a food journal. I write down what time I eat, what I ate, how much protein or carbs or calories were in the meal, how many ounces I've had to drink, and whether there were any problems afterwards. It's a different type of journaling then what I used to keep pre-surgery. Now I'm not journaling to see if I'm eating too much -- I'm journaling to make sure that I'm getting in enough liquids and food. Otherwise, I would happily sip on crystal light all day and not remember to eat anything.

Food is becoming just food to me.....that is a change I didn't think I would ever see. :) WOOT!!

Well, I had my first experience with my pouch rejecting a new food. LOL

Last night I tried a little bit of cooked carrot.....the reaction was immediate. I don't think they were quite soft cooked enough. Now I know what food feels like when it gets stuck. It was only 1 bite....but that was enough. Extreme pressure in my upper chest and a feeling like the food was lodged in my lower throat. It was not pleasant.

The solution was kinda gross. I took a couple sips of water, went into the bathroom and yakked up that bite of carrot into the trashcan. That took care of the heavy pressure....and after about 20 minutes things felt more normal.

TMI ahead: I do notice a big difference between throwing up before surgery and throwing up afterwards......there was no stomach acid or bile involved. The food came back up exactly as it had gone down. So, it wasn't that bad. Just some mucus and that bite of carrot. And there was no painful tightening of ab muscles to go with it......I had to drink water and kinda clench up myself to force the food back up and out. So......it wasn't quite as unpleasant as getting sick before RNY. And once the stuff was outta my pouch, the pressure and pain went away.

So this is a  lesson in preparing my own foods, because I know how mushy they have to be. And, I should have spit out the bite when I realized that the veggies weren't quite as soft as I would have preferred. I was afraid that I would insult the person who was thoughtful enough to bring me steamed veggies and tried them anyway. BIG MISTAKE!!. I should have just quietly passed them to my husband, or saved them for our dogs (which is where they ended up anyway....)  :o)

I will stick with my very  mushy veggies from now on! lol My dogs are making out like little bandits. ha ha. The couple times I have gone out to dinner or people have brought food to me, I try 1-2 bites of anything that is ok for me to eat and the rest comes home to the puppies. Last night they got shrimp (wayyyy too heavy and rubbery for pouch approval), leftover grits, an egg, salmon and steamed veggies (meat too heavy for my new pouch, and veggies rejected by pouch), and a baked potato. :o) Happy dogs!

So most of the time I'm making the right choices....I didn't touch the salmon or even try the shrimp. I knew it was the wrong texture for my tummy at this time. I thought the carrots might be ok.....nope. So, lesson learned. Gotta really try a mash test with a fork before I put anything in my mouth. My new tummy has absolutely NO forgiveness. LOL

I'm feeling good today, and since I was approved for walking and easy exercise at my appt this week, I'm going to break out my Leslie Sansone walking workout and try it today. Not sure how much of it I can do, but I'm going to give my best effort and stop if it becomes too much. It's too cold to walk outside, so I'm going to walk inside!

I have been stepping on the scale every day. I need to stop! This morning I decided I'm setting a rule....I can only get on the scale once a week on Fridays. No daily weighing!! That's just more obsessive than I want to be. And I know there will be days where the scale doesn't move at all -- I don't want to start dwelling on that. So far, everytime I have weighed it's shown a loss....but I know there is a stall approaching. Seems to be a lot of posts on OH to that effect......so no more daily visits with Mr. Scale. Weekly is enough!

I came home from the hospital with minimal pain and problems. It didn't really hurt when I drank liquids, and I could eat just fine. I really started to doubt I even had a small pouch for a stomach....lol. I couldn't really feel it....maybe a slight sensation at the upper of my chest when I ate sugar free pudding.....but pretty much all silent on the tummy front otherwise.

I got switched to more chewable food yesterday......and one bite kinda got away from me. I learned quickly....I really do have a pouch. First of all, I filled up in about 2 bites of more normal food. And 2nd of all -- a little tiny bit of food got stuck. I didn't gag and throw up....but I could feel that bit stuck in there. It was uncomfortable....for hours.

I'm beginning to really like my New Life!!

I have learned the importance of carefully chewing every single bite extremely carefully....without having throwing up be a part of the lesson. 

I have learned that I will be full within just a couple bites. So I need to relax when I eat. Measure out my portions carefully. And always stop when I feel that slight pressure. And I need to make sure to schedule my meals and stick to that schedule. No skipping. If I let myself get too empty, there is that temptation to eat more than just those couple of bites. That's an invitation to seeing my meal again.....and I'm not a fan of upchucking.

Another good thing -- I went to the grocery last night and bought the soft foods that I can eat now. Cottage Cheese, greek yogurt, some salt free canned and frozen veggies, fat free refried beans, taco sauce, feta cheese, canned chicken, very thin sliced deli chicken and turkey, natural peanut butter, lowfat motzerella cheese, etc. I bought in small quantities, and I will split supplies between home and work. But the total cost was like $30. It's enough food for me for more than a week -- maybe even 2 weeks or more. The savings to our food budget with me eating small meals like this pays for the expensive vitamins I have to take.

I do fully realize that I am still a foodie.....I enjoy food. I'm just enjoying healthier foods, and way way way LESS than I used to eat before. Before I had surgery, my capacity to eat was DISCUSTING. I could nearly finish an entire large pizza by myself....and want MORE. That's just gross. Now I'm excited because I can have a mashed up spicy sardine today with probably 1 brussel sprout. And that's gonna be enough to keep me full for HOURS. I bought a 57 cent can of whole leaf spinach last night and was excited because I can have a little bit of it with some feta cheese. It's like a whole new world to me. I live within eating rules....but as I get further out from surgery I can pretty much try anything I want to see how my pouch tolerates it, as long as I follow those rules on portion size and carbs/fat. I can eat a common sense amount and then put the rest away for another meal.

I'm learning that food is just food. It's good when you are hungry.....but that's all it is. It isn't a mood enhancer, or the star of my special evenings/holidays. The social activity should be the main part of any gathering --- not the food that's served. It will take me awhile to put food in a more common sense notch in the hierarchy of things since I was a food addict for years. I spent 2 years in therapy getting my head straight on that front before even contemplating WLS. And now I'm using my WLS to learn that food is great.....but it's only fuel. It can be yummy and interesting....and it's fun to find new combinations and to let my family try some foods made my way. But....food is only fuel, and is in my life under rules and guidance. Exercise should be something I think about more than what my next meal is going to be. Gotta keep things in perspective. I'm working on it! :) Head changes take a bit of time and effort. :)

I do notice when I go out that maybe I need to try and order half-portions, if allowed. Portions are WAY too big, and I always end up carrying most of my meal out in a box. And then, most of the time, I don't finish it. I guess I could eat those foods for my next few meals and use up the extra food. I'm afraid that I may start offering my left-overs to my husband all the time, and add to his weight issues. Or maybe I need to just order my food as a side order with someone else's meal. Like my hubby orders a breakfast meal, and my meal is the grits that came with his meal..... Or, Maybe I need to give my leftover restaurant food to our dogs. It's wintertime, they could use the extra calories since they are outside most of the time. Or maybe I should just throw it away.

Last night I enjoyed our trip to Walmart to buy groceries. I didn't notice the back pain that I used to have when I walked for any distance, even slowly like shopping. But I did notice a new pulling sensation from my abs that kinda hurt just a bit. It wasn't until the very end of our shopping excursion, so I didn't have to sit down. But I was definitely worn out by the time we were done. I have dr's permission to start walking....but last night showed me that I have to walk within close distance of our shop, or our home. So I'm going to walk on the sidewalk right in front of our store. Or the circular driveway at our house. Then when I tire out and it starts to hurt....I can go inside and sit down to rest for awhile, and take another short walk later. Common sense -- gotta use it!!!

All right -- enough morning musings! Gotta get ready for work, pack up my food for the day, and start working on a new day!!! My oldest son is home for Christmas!!!! :o) Woot!!

Still doing just fine more than a week out! :)

Yesterday I thought I would try a new food....so I had bean with bacon soup for lunch. It went down fine....however several hours later I was having bloating/gas pains. Not such a good reaction. lol. I will wait a couple of weeks and try it again and see if I get the same gastro distress. The soup tasted great.....but it's not worth the pain later.

I am totally grateful for the fact that I bought a box of chewable gas-x before I went into the hospital!!! Those little wonder pills saved me from hours of tummy upset! I took a couple and got comfy in my recliner. After watching a little bit of TV, the bloat was subsiding and I felt much better. This morning all is back to normal. And Bean with Bacon soup is going on my "Not right now'' list.

I'm getting a bit tired of cream soup though. This morning for breakfast I just couldn't stomach soup, or anything like it. So I had a protein shake and some sugar free pudding. Was able to get the shake down, but after two bites of pudding I was done. I think when I get to work, I will have a little bit of watered down oatmeal since it is on my allowed list. I'll add in some protein powder. That ought to do the trick. Thursday is my dr's appointment...so if all is well, by the end of the week I should be allowed to have some mashed/pureed vegetables and moist fish. I look forward to that....I'm kinda creme-of-chicken'd out.

I have tried mashed potatoes with protein powder added, and my pouch tolerated it just fine. But.....I'm not sure how much carb is too much for me right now. So i don't want to use mashed potatoes very often. I can't wait until I can try mashed cauliflower! Add in a little protein powder, bit of smart balance, and 6-pepper mix! oh yeah! :)

I've been having this weird craving for  broccoli. But I can't have it yet.....I will see if my nutritionist will let me puree some. might have to wait a bit longer since it is so fibrous. I'm not going to complain about veggie cravings! I sit in a shop right next to bags of potato chips, cookies, brownies and all sorts of junk --- but I don't want to eat any of it. I'm craving VEGGIES. :) As a recovered food addict and chronic overeater/binger, I find that a sweet victory!!!! 2 years of therapy before starting the journey to WLS was TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!! :) I had WLS and I'm craving broccoli....LOL  Sweet !!

I'm also going to try and prevent my getting obsessed with the scale. I'm only going to weigh once a week -- on Fridays. I did this while trying to diet before surgery, and it seemed to work well. This week I have a drs appt on Thursday, but then I won't step on the scale again until the following Friday. And, after reading messages here, I will be expecting a stall soon.....it seems to happen quite frequently as people's bodies adjust to the surgery. I'm going to mentally prepare for it ahead of time so that the # on the scale doesn't bother me so much. I'm going to concentrate on following the plan my surgeon gave me....and not fixate so much on what the scale says. It will all work out. :)

Well tomorrow marks a week since I had RNY. Still keepin' on! :)

I have learned a few things in the first few days.....

My pouch will probably always wake me up early in the morning to let me know I haven't had a sip of water in a few hours. It gets cranky with me. So, I get up...take a bathroom break....sip on some water and take my nexium pill for the day. Then.....relief....and all is quiet on the tummy front. It's like I build up stomach acid when I sleep for several hours without drinking anything. If I take my med after sipping on some liquid, I'm good until the next day at 4 a.m.  :o)

When I gulp air, or swallow too much liquid at once, I'm gonna feel pressure and a weird sensation at the top right of my chest. Every time. That's my pouch saying "HEY, that was too damn much at once, and watch that air woman!" Then almost exactly 10 seconds after that sensation, I'm gonna burp like crazy. Sometimes when I don't feel that I've swallowed any air, I burp like crazy. I'm just thankful my pouch sends me the air back, and doesn't make me throw up. lol. I will accept the bad table manners on my part, plus nod and smile at my husband's giggles about my affliction......I can handle burping. :) It makes my 6 year old smile. :) 

New foods need to be tried one at a time because sometime what seems like a good choice is going to 1. taste like caca or 2. just not sit right.  Egg drop soup is one of my favorite things, and I had a family member bring me some home. :)  I can't stand the smell of the stuff direct from the container. The strong egg smell is horrible for me now. But, if I mix it with some chicken broth and hold my breath while pouring it into the bowl......it tastes awesome! I have to eat slowly since it does have bits of egg in it, but a few spoonfuls are a good tummy filler.  Then I tried mixing some sugar free pudding mix in with some plain yogurt and a bit of sweetner......it was GROSS. The pudding powder to me has a nasty fake sweetner aftertaste and the plain yogurt just tasted like gack.  So.....tummy votes NO on chocolate sf pudding and plain yogurt is nasty. I will wait a day and then try some sugar free fruit flavored yogurt and see what my tummy thinks of that. I'm definitely sticking with the Jello premade sugar free pudding from now on. The powdered stuff just tastes incredibly fake. ugh. 

I had two very small bites of mashed potato last night. I was just so sick of soup, so I watered the potatoes down a bit with a small amount of low fat gravy and tried a bite or two. My stomach is still satisfied several hours later. when I eat soup, I can easily eat 1/2 a cup or more and still want to drink water. With potatoes, I had maybe 2 teaspoons and I had no urge to take in anything else at all. Done. Full. Finished. And at 4 a.m. when I woke up, I still had no urge to eat anything. I was thirsty, but no urge for food at all. So.....I see that semi-solid or pureed foods give my pouch a different reaction than soup or more liquid foods. And the full sensation is totally different. I could tell at 2 half-bites to STOP.....there is no mistaking FULL with a pouch.  And this also shows me why you don't mix solid foods with liquid at meals. Without drinking water, two bites of potatoes was enough to satisfy me for HOURS. If I had drank with my meal, I imagine my food would have washed down just like my soup does, and I would have wanted to eat more, and I definitely wouldn't have woken up at 4 a.m. without needing to eat anything.  So, I'm going to stick with  my dr's directions and not drink anything with meals. There is a reason for it....and I've had a pouch-moment showing me what that reason is. For the sake of my weight loss results, I'm going to follow directions and do what I've been told to do. 

Which brings me to the fact that I have discovered on a public message board, the block function is necessary. I'm a recovered food addict. I know what my triggers are, and I know that I have to avoid situations and people that start poking, or making me think about those triggers. So.....I've blocked some people. It's not because I have a problem with them personally at all......it's because what they have to say, or their opinions, are just not what I need to be hearing to stay on track with my weight loss journey....or because I just have no personal interest in what they are saying. I've got 250 pounds to lose over the span of 2-3 years. I have to toe the line and stay focused. So those who pretty much do what they want and say they don't follow their surgeon's directions, or don't go to follow up appointments.....I'm probably going to block them so I don't even see their posts. What isn't common sense to me, might be awesome for someone else....I'm not saying their posts have no value at all. They just have no value to ME. And those who post stuff just purposefully to fan the flames of dissention on the board.....oh yeah....blocked baby! lol But most of the time, I believe those are people who just want attention and they will get it any way they can, even if it means posting things they know are going to cause a few individuals to go into attack mode. I'm equally annoyed by the whiner and the attackers. Come on -- don't feed the trolls. lol. All public message boards are pretty much like this.....this one just focuses on WLS, and those with weight problems come with their own particular brand of drama/whining/hang-ups. I know -- I AM one! 

So far, no real complications....just some minor things.

Having the same problem on the post-op liquids as I did on the pre-op liquids. I can't #2 on a liquid diet. So, I took miralax last night. hopefully that helps. And those 2 bites of mashed potato I put in there....maybe that will help. I can't wait to go on pureed foods....then I can put some fiber in there like beans and broccoli and see if that gets things moving appropriately. 

I have to make sure that I drink water/crystal light pretty much constantly. If I don't get in enough liquids during the day, I start to drag and get really tired. Plus, it makes me feel sick. So......I always cart around my 19 oz cup I got from the hospital. Even to church and I sip, sip, sip pretty much all day. It takes me HOURS to empty that cup...whereas before surgery I would have downed it in 20 minutes or less. I have to remain mindful of my fluids or I pay for it!!!

I have to avoid doing too much. When my body tells me it's time for a nap, I need to have some down time, or I will be taking my liquid pain medication. Gotta listen to the body, and do what it says!! I can handle outings for about an hour or so....any longer than that, and I'm dying. I need to relax and give things time to heal, or my body is going to let me know I'm out of line.

Other than that....smooth sailing so far. Hope it stays that way! But if it doesn't, I will handle problems as they arise.

I have not stepped on the scale since I came home from the hospital. I came home with one arm swollen from IV fluids.....and I just knew stepping on the scale would be a mistake. I think I'll wait until my checkup apppointment to see what my weight is. I don't want to become scale obsessed....or upset if it doesn't show some miraculous number right off the bat.

TTFN!! :)