Tomo

I finally mastered the Protein waffle recipe (again) the texture and flavor was perfect. Tracking is for the entire Belgian waffle, the pic was the last quarter that I remembered to photograph.

omg repurposing leftovers is one of my fave things to do!
a sample of my "Leftovers MacGyver-ing" (yes i take pictures food every. single. day. ...almost...i have an album titled "random food pics" on my phone hahahhaha)
in order of appearance:
1. leftover baked potatoes into chunky cream of potato Soup with bacon and cheddar
2. leftover cheesecake into cheesecake brownies
3. leftover dahl and sweet potato fries into curried sweet potato soup BONUS: also used leftover pita bread to make the croutons on top.
4. blueberry yogurt that was about to expire into yogurt bread

It’s my week 5 now and I can add some toast and crackers in my diet. Which mean I can eat left over from my family. Lol
I always rework my left over. Today morning I made salmon omelet with left over salmon and added low fat cheese. I should have added some onion as well. For lunch made chicken salad with left over rotisserie chicken as well.

For dinner I made it fresh. 93/7 Ground beef with onion, and some cracker. make sure I cook my onion very well and I can tolerate it.

I should add more veggies on my diet. Need to go food shopping soon.

chicken salad, carrots and crackers. I usually make a salmon version of this but I wanted to use up leftover rotisserie chicken. I also want to make a chicken Soup from the remnants.
Anyone else reworking leftovers? I’m terrible at it.

Shipwrecked ice cream (child size shared by 2 people)

I’m definitely going to try this!

Looks good!

I made silky edamame Soup today, but added chicken breast for extra Protein. It was like one of the fancy restaurant soup! If you are interested, Google the name of the soup and try it out.
I didn’t have much ingredients at home, I only used sesame oil, edamame, shallots, chicken broth, chicken breast and sour cream. Turn out great.
I have the small bowl in the pictures, the bigger one is for my family. They enjoyed it also. Some of the restaurants I been to add bacon bite on the bottom of the soup. And maybe I will do that for my family next time.

Ordered this falafel bowl from a new Greek restaurant in town. Holy smokes it’s HUGE! It’s taken 3 different sittings today and the help of a 9yr old (who ate all the pita and tzatziki, a few of the cucumbers and tomatoes and half a falafel). At this point I’m done trying to eat more so I threw it away.

My 3 weeks post op meal now is 5 oz in total, but most of the time I have to stop and go back to it to finish. It includes 3oz of Protein, 1oz of vegetable and 1 oz of starch. All need to be mushy or moist.
Bake salmon, cream of wheat and broccoli puree with onion and sour cream. It was delicious! Portion Control is going to be very important now. I believe I can still eat the food I used to eat, but it will have to be post ob portion.
I told myself “ I guess I can go to very nice fancy restaurants now and be full with just their appetizer.” 😂 lol



My before meals

 

Just sharing the Irish equivalent. Had no idea it was so (relatively) low in Protein - I do track *everything* but I must have missed this in the general deliciousness of Boursin!

I was allowed coffee before during and after. It depends upon your program.

Programs are so different, but you should definitely be eating, or at least attempting, more solid foods by 8 weeks. In case this helps, I've just found this YouTube channel where a bariatric dietician is working through the food stages in the post op diet. I don't think she'll get to where you are until next week, but you might want to check her out: https://www.youtube.com/@BariatricFoodCoach
Also, I found this video really helpful in explaining how to approach eating right after surgery:

It can be challenging when your taste buds are against you but it is a great opportunity to try things you haven’t before or give food you didn’t enjoy in the past another go. I wasn’t hungry or interested in eating either (for 8 months or so). So I ate to a routine to ensure I got on my required nutrition. It helped to change how I looked at eating - not for comfort, to make me feel good/better, if I was bored or …. but to fuel my body. Eating to live not living to eat. Was also when I began asking myself if I needed the next bite or just wanted it. Never forced myself to eat all my portion if I didn’t need it or thought nope, no more.
At two months, I was eating only all real food & eating a wide variety of meats. Some vegetables were challenging but steamed green Beans, cauliflower & cabbage were good. I could add tomatoes, celery, capsicum, onions, mushrooms to any slow cooked Soup, stew, minced meat dish. etc. About a month later all vegetables were fine. Didn’t touch shakes from purées.
Aim for three meals a day & maybe one snack. (I snacked on fruit or yoghurt.) Check with your dietician to see what they recommend for you. Try to avoid falling back into the old habit of eating if you have head hunger.

Perfectly normal. Things suddenly become disgusting - taste, texture or smell can be the cause. It lasts a couple of months +/-. For me the shakes became extremely grainy & I couldn’t tolerate them & other foods seemed overly sweet or salty. Some find foods they didn’t like before suddenly taste delicious. Good opportunity not to reintroduce certain flavours back into your diet (like sugars) & to try new foods.
These first couple of months can be challenging. Trying to find foods your tummy will tolerate. food you eat one day easily the next day your tummy is no way. Not feeling hungry or interested in eating. …

I used to say my tummy was like a petulant, temper tantrum throwing 2 year old. I never knew what the day would bring.

Poshmark is a great way to sell your gently used or new items, plus you can use the credit to purchase clothes in your new size for less than retail prices. Or you can always cash out your earnings. Shipping is simple--just print the provided label and drop it in the mail. The hardest part is just taking pictures that display the clothes effectively, but its all done within the app and on your phone, and you can get good ideas from other listings

oddly enough, my skin folds & skin rubbing bothered me more when i was overweight vs. AFTER the weight loss.
my issues were all centred around sweat and moisture, so for me, it was all about keeping dry. i used non-talc baby powder (the johnson and johnson cornstarch baby powder is whar i used most) in my "problem" areas: between my thighs and my under boobs. worked great so long ad i was vigilant about it (if i wasn't, i'd get itchy and rashes, and worst case, i'd get open sores).
but like i said, as i lost weight it actually got better so i ditched the powder.

breakfast/brunch of champions lol:
1/2 a sausage and egg Breakfast sandwich, a hash brown, 4 Pringles chips and some ketchup.
375 calories for the plate, at it all.

So excited. I actually found Boursin cheese at the supermarket! We’ll ignore the calories & low Protein & reflect simply on its deliciousness. Going to make the zucchini tart again but as mini tartlets for drinks next weekend.

Have you seen a bariatric dietician? If not, perhaps it may be timely to do so.
If I have understood correctly, you are eating 1/2cup of food at a time, many times a day??? You don't say what you are actually consuming...are you eating calorie dense foods? Nuts/seeds, cheese, full fat yoghurts/milk, avocado, salmon and other oily fish, eggs?
Have you actually calorie counted your daily intake over a week or so?
What exercise are you doing on a daily basis?

Orthostatic hypotension is common after the surgery. That is your blood pressure drops on rising & then resettles again. Did they check your blood pressure sitting & then standing? I had a tendency towards low blood pressure before surgery now it’s something I experience every day & am almost 5 years post surgery.

Periods of low energy while losing isn’t that uncommon either. I remember at around the 3 month mark suddenly feeling so tired again. At the time I thought I really should get more active & started to walk on my treadmill. But I couldn’t do it. Was so tired I worried I’d fall asleep as I was walking & I was wreaked after a couple of minutes. That nixed that idea.
Plus the doughiness in the head & inability to focus can last well into the second month too.
However, what you’re experiencing could be related to having had Covid. Back in the day it was known as a post viral response: lethargy, low energy, cold sweats, blood pressure issues, etc, I used to get burning on the soles of my feet too. Could last for months after having one of the more severe viruses like glandular fever, influenza A, etc. I’ve had two bouts after having pityriasis rosea & then human parovirus. I remember struggling to walk up the two flights of stairs to my apartment & I had a chair placed in front of the white board in my classroom because even standing was exhausting. Now of course everyone calls it long COVID but it’s the same thing.
My last thought is you’ve picked up the vertigo virus. It’s a parasitic type virus that attacks when you’re run down post another virus. I got mine after influenza A. The vertigo, lethargy, etc. wasn’t pleasant. Occurred randomly for a couple of years after the initial bout. Generally over the counter anti nausea meds manages the vertigo otherwise a script for stemetil or similar helps. I carried it in my bag just in case I had a vertigo attack.
Just some suggestions. Hope you start to feel better soon.

make sure you're sticking to your plan and stay off the scale - maybe just weigh yourself once a week.
also, keep in mind that the closer you get your goal, the harder it is to get the pounds off. It took me 20 months - and after the year mark, there were months when I only lost a lb or two.

If you were advised 65-75g Protein as your goal & one shake helps you to reach that goal or just exceed it as this stage you’re doing well. When your nutritionalist recommended 2 shakes did they realise you’re able to get 40-50g of protein in eating real food?
To me the goal was to be get all I needed nutritionally from eating real food. I never had another shake after the2 week liquids stage, so from when I began purées. I ate a high protein yoghurt or yoghurt drink to give me the extra boost of protein to help me get near or to my 60g goal. (It did take me a while but my surgeon & dietician were okay with that.)
To help reach my fluid goals, I started drinking during the night. still do. Every time I get in or out of bed I drink. Get up to pee, drink. If I’m reading in bed, watching tv, on social media, etc. in bed, I sip regularly. I get in another 8-10ozs most nights.

I would follow what your clinic says. Stalls are a normal part of weight loss, and as long as you're compliant with your program, they WILL break. No need to do anything other than to make sure you're following. your clinic's program to a "T".
100 grams of Protein isn't too high. Most of us are told to shoot for the 60-80 range, and even that can be a challenge at first, so It'd be a huge challenge to get up to 100 so soon after surgery (which is probably why he recommended drinking two Protein Shakes a day). Although that said, 100 grams of protein is not too high. I have to average at least 100 grams a day because we discovered early on after my surgery (nine years ago) that I malabsorb it. If I don't get that much, my pre albumin level tanks.
also, you are not going to gain weight, given what you said you're eating. You would not be gaining weight on 100 grams of protein, either, given the amount of calories you're taking in.

Most programs will tell you to stick with 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup portions for the first month or two. There is a lot of swelling internally and a lot of nerves are cut that communicate fullness so it is hard for us to discern whether we are full or not. I found this portion varied per food personally though. I have always been able to eat a bigger portion of yogurt, for instance, than a pureed meat. Density seems to matter to my stomach.
You could always call your surgeon's office to find out their recommendations. But if you don't want to, I'd stick to the 1/4 to 1/3 cup range. I noticed my portions changed at around 2 months out. I can eat closer to 1/2 cup portions now. I'm assuming that is because all the swelling finally went down and there is more space now.