I was going to call this Break On Through To The Other Side (thank you Doors). But I figured I'd get sick of it after a while. I'm going to use this space to keep track on the 2 week march toward surgery and then to keep track of the recovery and progress. That way I can keep it all together and if I just do one thread, it's all in one place without clogging up the Blog Area. I'm sure it's gonna be excruciatingly boring to everyone--me included! I'm a list and minutia kinda gal. I like tracking and counting--although I can be equally lax about crap. So I stop just short of OCD town (not that there's anything wrong with that).

My official 2 week liquid diet starts tomorrow. I decided to jump on it today because Sunday feels like a great place to start and because it's hard to do better than yesterday as my last food day before surgery. I'm a Texan, born and raised, and yesterday we had a fairwell to my ass and thighs via a Texas BBQ tour through Houston and Tomball. I ate so much brisket, sausage and ribs, I can honestly claim to be over it. Growing up in a BBQ family, slow smoked meats is almost in my blood. So it was only natural that I would choose that as the last rights.

I'm having RNY on February 20th and as I understand it, moist (fatty) brisket might not be my friend post surgery. Supposedly high fat foods (which moist brisket is) might cause a sort of "dumping" in the poop department. So I figure my future, once healed, might only include lean cuts of brisket and smoked meats. It's a choice I will readily make to lose weight and get my health back.

So the morning Day 1 hasn't been very difficult--a little hunger and growly tummy, but nothing that makes me feel anxiety. Protein drinks on board and this afternoon will shop for SF popsicles, SF jello and bone broth. I think I'll stick to packaged bone broth so I can get the actual nutritional information from a certified source. There's no real way for me to tell how many calories and carbs are in the bone broth I make here at home.

My Pre-Op Plan includes: 80-100g of protein; low fat; 60g carbs and somewhere around 1000cals per day.

4-5 Protein Drinks containing a minimum of 15g of protein per serving. They must be low fat and low sugar and can't contain over 4g of sugar per serving. I can have clear low sodium broths, sugar free drinks, sugar free jello and sugar free clear popsicles (no fudgsicles or ice cream based pops).

I will do this from now until February 20th.

I'm pretty sure I will be doing plenty of the following:

Edited February 4, 20188 yr by FluffyChix

Fluffy I've got a strange idea and the more I puzzle on it the more certain I become. Do you think there is any chance they would let me walk into the operating theater like the cSection mommies you see,on TLC and similar channels? I would feel like I was showing my strong commitment to seeing this through. They could give me the I Don't give a s**t pill or scopalamine patch in there but I'd really like to walk instead of riding.

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Week 1 Surgeon's Visit

My surgeon was so pleased with my progress. She smiled/beamed the whole time!!! And she said I could start eggs today and by this weekend, I could begin adding anything that I can mash with a fork and very soft steamed veggies! Wahooooo!!!!! Thah crahps ah sayuved!!!!

I told her I'd been dreaming of a perfect 6 minute soft boiled egg and avocado and poached fish. LOL. She laughed at that!

She was taken aback at the extent of my bruising. She said it would all go away with time, but that it was a lot of bruising! And she wants to see me again next week. She ok'd me drinking 12-16oz of water per hour if I want, and loved the amount I was walking. And she said that I'm pretty textbook and right where they want me for weight loss. She was very excited about the lack of pain and about me not being on pain pills and stepping down on the gaba.

So it's a great report!

And then I did something dumb! LOL. We went out to breakfast to celebrate. And the place didn't do soft boiled eggs or poached eggs, so I asked for 1 egg fried over medium and for a side of avocado slices. I mashed the egg up really well and ate very slowly, chewing very well. (Oh and I blotted the crap outta it, cuz it was cooked in heaps of oil! Blech!) And I ate 3/4 of it. I reckon about 3tbsp total. I had about 1tbsp of avocado and gave the rest to Mr. F. And felt fine, a little burpy--but nbd. But dayum, by the time we were at the polling place to early vote, I was feeling very green and felt in need of a very quick potty break. Made it through voting and home, but by then I had the cold sweats. Came home and had a very "boisterous" visit to the throne that cleaned me out! LOL. Sorry for TMI. And then I laid down and napped. I woke with my pain below the sternum that radiates through to my back. Took some liquid tylenol. And rested for a couple of hours.

Now I just had my lunch meal of peach and peanut butter blueberry yogurt soup. So we'll see if I have issues with that meal. I think it was maybe the grease at breakfast? Or the avocado? Or who knows, maybe it's the egg. I will try soft scrambled tonight and see. I don't want to go back on liquids.

What was the first food you put down your pie hole post surgery?

Edited March 1, 20188 yr by FluffyChix

I tried a scrambled egg when I first went on purees. It took me a long time to get half of it down. I have had another since, but actually have had more luck with hardboiled (while on soft foods). Pureed chicken salad (yours sounded good - mine had greek yogurt, lemon juice, dried onions and herbs) went down a lot better. And I ate a lot of lowfat cottage cheese. I mixed ricotta with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and some splenda. Texture was a bit gritty but the flavor was good and it went down well.

12 hours ago, Miss Topaz said:

I tried a scrambled egg when I first went on purees. It took me a long time to get half of it down. I have had another since, but actually have had more luck with hardboiled (while on soft foods). pureed chicken salad (yours sounded good - mine had greek yogurt, lemon juice, dried onions and herbs) went down a lot better. And I ate a lot of lowfat cottage cheese. I mixed ricotta with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and some splenda. Texture was a bit gritty but the flavor was good and it went down well.

Yeah, tomorrow I'm making chicken salad! The ricotta texture is annoying to me. So I'ma skip it. She said I could have anything I could mash with a fork. So last night I made cheesy soft scrambled eggs and ate 1/2 of the recipe. They were DIVINE and filling and sat well with me--no heaviness, just satisfied fullness at 1/4 cup! I even had .2oz of avocado (yes, you read that right...it was a mere sliver) Ha! So I'm guessing my tummy just had problems with all the grease from the diner--even though I blotted and blotted, it still prolly had way too much grease! It sounds like she's gonna let me off the hook with purees unless it's not fork mashable, then it's gonna have to be pureed. Think tonight I'm making my version of Ricotta Bake by Eggface. I use cottage cheese in mine.

Here's my scrambled egg recipe. The secret is in keeping them moist and not cooking to the dry stage. Eggs are scrambled and done at 160 degrees, but are still wet and custardy at that point. If you cook them to dry and bouncy, they will be way hard to eat.

Cheesy Soft Scrambled Egg (Phase 3 Pureed/Soft Diet)

Serves 2 at 1/4c each

3 seconds HEB olive oil spray

1 large egg

1floz Fairlife fat free milk

1/2 oz 2% cottage cheese (Daisy)

1 pinch of kosher or sea salt

1/2 oz medium cheddar cheese, grated (Tillamook)

Heat pan over medium high heat. Spray pan lightly with olive oil spray. Add milk to egg and beat well until completely mixed. Add cottage cheese to the hot, prepared pan. Cook for a few seconds. Add scrambled egg and milk. Begin gently shaking and stirring pan with a spatula. Move pan on and off the heat to control how quickly the egg sets.

When egg is halfway cooked and there is still liquid in the pan, add grated cheddar. Turn off heat. Continue to gently shake and scrape pan with the spatula until the rest of the egg is thick and glistening but not hard, and the cheddar is melted. Remove pan from heat. Stir once more and portion eggs. Makes 2, 1/4c servings. Place one serving in a storage container and leave it open until cool. Place the remaining portion on the plate and enjoy!

Rewarm leftovers for about 1 minute in a hot water bath, or nuke gently at 10second intervals until just warm. Don't overcook or the eggs will be spongy and will sit hard on your new tummy!

I ate these with a very small sliver of avocado, about .2oz by scale weight! It sat very easily on my tummy!

Variation: BTW, substitute the Tillamook with Neufchatel or reduced fat cream cheese and add a slice of smoked salmon, finely minced purple onion, and capers for a fantastic breakfast dish suitable for the later stages of Soft/Regular food Phase 3/4).

NOTE About Soft-Set Scrambled Eggs: You might be tempted to think soft-set scrambled eggs are still "raw" and that might gross you out. But, and it's a big but! If the eggs register 160 degrees with an instant read thermometer, they are safe to consume. They are simply cooked to the soft-set stage and are just beyond the custard stage, so even though they look wet, they are not raw! By shaking the pan and gently scraping with a spatula during cooking, you're introducing all portions of the egg to the heat and allowing them to cook more uniformly. By keeping the eggs soft and custardy, they will sit much easier in your new tummies!

Nutritionals (full recipe=1/2c): 190 calories; 15g protein; 14g fat; 3g carbs; 0g fiber; 3g net carbs; 0g sugar

Nutritionals (1/2 recipe=1/4c): 95 calories; 7.5g protein; 7.5g fat; 1.5g carbs; 0g fiber; 1.5g net carbs; 0g sugar

Edited March 2, 20188 yr by FluffyChix

Day 10 Post Op - 219lbs (-3.4lbs Post Surgery)

I slept really well again. And woke up full of energy, calm, and very happy! The pure act of chewing and eating savory food yesterday really calmed me down and made me content with my post op experience. I explained to my surgeon that although I would be content with my current liquid diet and not complain, I'd probably gladly sacrifice small rodents for the opportunity to advance to savory Stage 3-Soft Foods.

She laughed and said, how do you feel about eggs? I told her that I'm pro-egg and then smiled and admitted that I'd been dreaming of a perfect 6.5 minute soft boiled egg with a spoonful of avocado floating on it! She said, go for it! Well, it felt like I won the weight loss surgery lottery!!!

So this morning I fully intend to have my soft boiled egg and tablespoon of avocado! Score baby!!! I'll give a full report! Lunch will be my leftover cheesy soft scrambled egg from last night, and I think dinner will either be another soft boiled egg, or perhaps my dijon egg salad on a low carb cracker. I use low carb tortillas and cut one into squares the size of wheat thins. Then you place the squares on a paper towel and nuke at 20 second intervals, turning them onto the flip side every now and then until perfectly crispy and just beginning to brown. That's about 1 minute total in my microwave. Then store in an airtight container and use 1 or 2 for cracker subs. They're perfect for egg or chicken salad, perfectly low carb, and not too fiberous--melting in your mouth quite as easily as saltines, only without all the carbiness!

I love an egg fast and even wrote a crap ton about Egg Fast Diets on my old blog. So many great egg recipes, but some of them are a bit advanced for my early Stage 3 Bariatric Diet, so I will just be content with playing by my doc's rules! Maybe I will revisit them and revise them for the low fat bariatric diet approach one day.

I hope I will continue to lose and not begin the 3 week stall early on account of beginning the real food phases early! But if I do, I'm emotionally prepared and have my big girl panties standing by!

I am so happy for you!!!! I have my post op Monday and I'm hoping beyond hope that I will be "promoted" to soft foods! I really enjoy your food ideas so please keep them up! I've never been a fast food person and I enjoy cooking but it's hard to think outside of the box.

Just now, newself said:

I am so happy for you!!!! I have my post op Monday and I'm hoping beyond hope that I will be "promoted" to soft foods! I really enjoy your food ideas so please keep them up! I've never been a fast food person and I enjoy cooking but it's hard to think outside of the box.

Oh I'm praying you get a great report sweetie!!! I'm so excited for you!! How many weeks was this appointment again? Me=Short term memory! Mine ended up being 1 week + 2 days. I have a second f/up next week.

Don't cheat this weekend, and keep doing your Full Liquid Phase 2 ok?!!!

I'm glad you like reading about my food exploits. For the longest time, I've been concentrating on quick 10 minute meal fixes, cuz it was so hard to stand more than 10minutes at a time. Now that I can stand longer, I just don't have the will to be in the kitchen for hours on end! And still want to keep the food contact to a very purposeful 10 minutes to get real foods either in a slow cooker or on my plate! LOL.

I hope you will keep jumpin' in and reading/contributing with some of your own wicked feats of kitchen strength here!!! Maybe this can become a "dump site" for great bariatric food ideas??? Wouldn't that be awesome!?!

Fluffy Chix I'm so glad to be back I pulled a proud Grammy moment this morning and thought alex/ken blocked me. Scary how are things going?

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They wouldn't restore me with other name? [emoji197] so new nom de plume

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6 minutes ago, frust8 said:

They wouldn't restore me with other name? [emoji197] so new nom de plume

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Ok, so what was your old name? LOL. Me=Miss STM (short term memory). LOL

Kakatlady612[emoji197]

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Huh, well that's weird then. How on earth do you lose a nic? If you forget your password, you can just have it sent to you.

I checked google, I checked google+ I checked under gmail I checked emails on my phone and even another e mail account on spectrum. Nada so I came back in frustrated hence I typed in the 1st thing that came to mind so I guess I'm stuck with frust8 -sniff sniff

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14 minutes ago, frust8 said:

I checked google, I checked google+ I checked under gmail I checked emails on my phone and even another e mail account on spectrum. Nada so I came back in frustrated hence I typed in the 1st thing that came to mind so I guess I'm stuck with frust8 -sniff sniff

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Well this nic is surely easier to remember. The other one was way too complicated.

I thought you might say it fit me better, just a week to seminar#1 gosh I hope I like what they say. I want to stay in the bariatric groove and keep moving forward. I'm still a little jelly of your success but look how LONG it took you to get there.

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