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

Lol...it means my 1 1/2 year old granddaughter got a hold of my phone and figured out how to make a post. I'll ask her what that formula is when she is a little older. Sorry. #carryon

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1 minute ago, norville said:

Lol...it means my 1 1/2 year old granddaughter got a hold of my phone and figured out how to make a post. I'll ask her what that formula is when she is a little older. Sorry. #carryon

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I am so damned impressed that at 1 1/2 years old, she can spell Adams and make a formula! bahahahahahaaha!

Lol...I thinks she's impressive, but I'm a little biased. PS. Congrats on your post surgery recovery! I am almost 9 months out with a loss of 85 lbs. Never had any pain or complications and follow my docs directions to a "t". Keep up the good work!

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1 minute ago, norville said:

Lol...I thinks she's impressive, but I'm a little biased. PS. Congrats on your post surgery recovery! I am almost 9 months out with a loss of 85 lbs. Never had any pain or complications and follow my docs directions to a "t". Keep up the good work!

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Holy 85lb complication-free recovery and progress to you!!! You rock the casbah! Thank you SO much for sharing!!! Why don't you and your granddaughter stick around and share your knowledge and extreme posting and spelling skills with us?

Congrats to you and thank you! I lol can't take any credit. I just follow my surgeon's instruction blindly like one of the cows on SouthPark. LOL.

Day 13 Post Surgery - 215.6lbs (-6.8lbs)

Holy cow!!! I slept great AGAIN!!! And woke up full of energy and joyful intentions toward the morning!! I can NOT explain the boost and motivation that it gives a person to see quick weight loss success on the scale! LOL. And I know I will ride that muthah truckin' wave til it ends! And there will be an end cuz all magic has a price. Doesn't it, deary? Hehe.

I know sometime between now and the next couple of weeks the awful, terrible, very bad, 3 week stall shall descend upon me and my house. And there will be a pox and a scar upon the land complete with wailing, pissing and moaning, and gnashing of teeth! Ha! I will step on a non-responsive scale multiple times during the day just to confirm it's bitchi-ness.

I was so ready for the scale to start moving, though. I KNOW my body. And my body HATES whey protein isolate in large amounts. It can take having 1 protein drink a day, or some supplementation with it, but not for all meals every meal! It's too insulinogenic for me. But give me low fat protein and low fat veggies? And BAM baby. Just like that, my body will start to tap into its fat stores!!! And that is exactly what's happening. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that I'm only taking an occasional 20ml of liquid sf tylenol for transient pain rather than taking gabapentin, tramadol, or worse, narcotics and muscle relaxants!

I'm walking as much as I can. Yesterday I hit 40 minutes for the day--almost back to pre-op. I am so limited by the hip bursitis. My hips are back to hurting like a little b***h. But I'm still walking on them at 10 and 20 minute intervals. I think this is really important!

Two things concern me right now. I am not getting a sense of fullness. I can easily eat 1/4c of food and could probably eat more than that, but I'm trying to be very conscientious about following my doc's orders. Until last night. One of my diet forms says at Phase 3 soft foods I can have 1-2oz dense protein + 1/4c soft veggies. So I am taking them at their word. Last night I had 1.75oz of grilled tilapia + 1tsp low fat nut-less pesto, 1oz frozen broccoli, 1/2oz avocado, 1/2oz heirloom tomato (skinless/seedless). I wasn't full, but my spidey senses were on alert to tell me I should not eat any more. But and it's a big butt...I did NOT feel full. And I WANTED more food! LOL. That was me all day yesterday! But I still ate my 1/4c of egg scramble, my 3tbsp egg salad + 1/2slice of low carb CheezeItz crackers, 1/2c of yogurt/cottage cheese+apple sauce and cinnamon, plus my 9oz Premier Protein in decaf coffee for a grand total of: 512cals; 61g protein; 18g fat; 15g carbs; 1g fiber; 14g net carbs; 7g sugar naturally occurring.

I hope the lack of satiety is because I have little inflammation and because my nerves are not yet firing on all cylinders?

OK, more later. Will come back to share my Guiltless Nut-Free Pesto later.

Pesto ymmmn

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Guiltless Nut-Less Pesto (Phase 3 Soft Foods)

Serves: 34 teaspoons (about 2/3c + 2 tsp); 1s=1tsp

1 cup of fresh basil, leaves only--no stems, packed

1/2c of organic baby spinach, leaves only, no stems, loosely packed

1 clove garlic, peeled and pressed

3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, Frigo

2 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeeze

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)

1 pinch kosher salt

1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, HEB

1 1/2 tbsp water

Blend all ingredients into a fine puree with a small food processor or smoothie blender. Freeze in 1tbsp portions in ice cube trays, or store in the fridge up to 1 week.

Nutritionals (full recipe): 277 calories; 9g protein; 27g fat; 2g carbs; 0g fiber; 2g net carbs

Nutritionals (1 tsp serving): 8 calories; 0g protein; 1g fat; 0g carbs; 0g fiber; 0g net carbs

Notes: This recipe is a cross between a classic pesto and a chimichurri. The brightness of the lemon zest and lemon juice are what move it into the direction of a chimichurri sauce rather than a pesto. But at Stage 3 Soft Foods, we are not yet cleared for nuts. And the lemon adds to the complexity of the sauce in the absence of the nuts. It also helps keep the basil and spinach from turning brown with oxidation. If you don't want to use the lemon, you can blanch the basil and spinach in boiling water for about 10-15 seconds then submerge into an ice water bath. Once cool, drain and ry the leaves and proceed with recips. But, I think blanching basic reduces its pungency. You be the judge. This pest will work until I can make one with full on nut-power!

On ‎2018‎-‎03‎-‎03 at 10:36 AM, FluffyChix said:

And I pretty much adore eating on coffee saucer with a cocktail fork

I was recently cleaning out my cupboards and found these shallow little dipping dishes (like the ones you use for dipping maki rolls/sushi in soy sauce) I forgot I had. I think they'll be perfect for the teeny post-op meals.

If it helps, @FluffyChixI was one of the “omg I don’t think he even DID the operation cos I can eat anything” ones.

Two things - my stomach definitely ‘tightened up’ or the nerves fired differently or something, a few weeks in, and I noticed I got fuller quicker, less hungry between meals, etc

Also, I can feel not full as I eat, not full, not full, not full, oooops way too full. It does sort of sneak up and bam, food sitting in your throat. I still pretty much organise food by helping size. 1/2 cup ish of solids, including my protein.

It is odd, learning to drive a new organ!

4 hours ago, Biddynz said:

It does sort of sneak up and bam, food sitting in your throat.

6 weeks out and this is so true. And the bam! seems to happen faster if I forget to slow down or chew chew chew

Oh goodness I don’t want the “NOT feeling full” after having surgery! This is one of the issues I need- serving size!

17 hours ago, stacy71 said:

Oh goodness I don’t want the “NOT feeling full” after having surgery! This is one of the issues I need- serving size!

Don’t worry too much - even when I feel hungry and have food, the serving is still maybe 1/4 what I used to eat.

It is kinda hard to describe, but I don’t so much get full as... lose interest. Lose the drive to have another mouthful. Get distracted from eating. And so, stop.

This is a new experience for someone who binge ate until I was uncomfortable, BS (Before Surgery).

5 hours ago, Biddynz said:

BS (Before Surgery).

Love this. I shall borrow it, steal from it shamelessly and never offer attribution. Beauty!

5 hours ago, Biddynz said:

Don’t worry too much - even when I feel hungry and have food, the serving is still maybe 1/4 what I used to eat.

It is kinda hard to describe, but I don’t so much get full as... lose interest. Lose the drive to have another mouthful. Get distracted from eating. And so, stop.

This is a new experience for someone who binge ate until I was uncomfortable, BS (Before Surgery).

Thank you ? I needed that!

Fluffy Chix ---remember on one of the threads you mentioned your mother? Well Kelly Clarkson's Because Of You was the story of my relationship with my mother. I could have wrote every word. Just so you know.

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