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

Just now, Little Green said:

Why white-knuckle your hunger when you're eating half the calories your RD recommended? *WAGS FINGER STERNLY AT FLUFFY* Eat some more if ya want. I'm so glad you're having a great time so far! I think your already restricted carbs were probably the key to a smooth transition. Unlike me who was having banana smoothies every day

I know right? But a part of me is clenching my anal sphincter because my forkin protein is 100g! It's really throwing me for a loop. LOL.

I swear to the sweet baby Jesus of the golden fleece diapers...low carb is a savior! Going low carb prior to this, or even stepping down on the carbs prior to the liquid diet is paramount. I can NOT even imagine how gruelling it would be to hit surgery fully carbed up, without even a pre-op phase and BAM! No food for you for 3weeks! No wonder a lot of people struggle after surgery?! I'd want to bite the heads off bats!

24 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I know right? But a part of me is clenching my anal sphincter because my forkin Protein is 100g! It's really throwing me for a loop. LOL.

My only suggestion is to maybe find some lower-protein options? The Premier Protein shakes pack a darn PUNCH at 30g a piece! Several of my protein options are only 15-18g so that's how I'm able to fit in more calories at roughly the same amount of protein. But... then again, if you are happy and mostly not feeling hunger, then don't change a thing! Super proud of you!!!!!!!

Edited February 8, 20188 yr by Little Green

MUAH! Yeah, I only have PP 1 time a day, split (LOL, don't fuss). I may have 2oz per coffee X 3 cups, then right before bed will have the rest. Then I guess, I could make the servings smaller on the rest so that I only get 15g per serving. I'd still be drinking the same thing but it would be split into more smaller more frequent drinks.

Like right now? I'm still working on "breakfast". LOL. So I still have my morning snack of bullion to go in an hour or 1 1/2 hours. Then will have lunch and I'm gonna have a blended protein lemon ice tea (Synthrax). It will be about 22oz though. So theoretically, I could split that into 2 drinks (25g protein total).

But it still doesn't up my cals. Which is a bummer. I can't have soy protein (the only other option they allow), because of the hormone positive breast cancer. My onc wrote the book on breast cancer, and still says the studies are too early to definitively conclude that soy doesn't contribute to development or recurrence of ER/PR+ BC. I'd add coconut milk to make my drinks, but it's really high in fat (even the So Delicious stuff). I'm allergic to almond milk and don't have any cashew milk here.

Do you have any other ideas?

Pizza Soup - Broth (Snack/Pre-op Approved)

Serving size 1

1 cup low sodium chicken broth (Central Market Organics)

1/8cup (28g) low carb marinara (Central Market Taste of Italy)

1 pinch dried oregano

1 pinch dried basil

1/2tsp grated parmesan (Kraft)

No Salt/pepper to taste

Nuke to heat until piping hot. Enjoy.

Nutritionals: 38cals; 4g protein; 2g fat; 2g carbs; 1g fiber; 1g net carbs; 2g sugar

Very satisfying break from "plain broth". Am not worried about the calories--maybe I should be? But, I'm so far below my 1000calorie target and my carb target, I figure this will be fine every now and then.

Your concoctions are pretty amazing. I needed you during my pre-op....oh well.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Right?

Day 5 Pre-op Liquids DONE baby! Yesterday was a trip. Had pretty much zero hunger, then tried out some chewy vitamins from Celebrate and got horribly nauseated! Think it was the iron that did it. I could only do water and broth the rest of the afternoon and evening and finally forced down the last of my Premier Protein shake to get in 60g protein for the day. Calories were in the basement. Bleh. And I was up 2lbs last night with tight ankles. (Yes, I weigh 2x a day. Sue me. It's my circus, and my monkeys.) This morning I'm up 0.2lbs from yesterday morning. It's so counter intuitive not to see a loss on the scale after only eating 385 calories for the day. Hell, maybe I just need to relax with a cup of smooth move tea?

But, it isn't my first rodeo. When I first started this journey I tried eating as a post WLS patient going from liquid diet to soft, puree, then solids. Ha! I think I only lost about 9-12lbs during that time? So my body clearly doesn't like protein drinks. I suspect it makes my insulin spike and maybe even uric acid. Both would account for my ankles swelling and for slow weight loss. There is no doubt in my mind that I'm losing, but I think I'm retaining fluid.

So the game plan for today is gonna be to try to get in more calories and my protein. I'm gonna try to avoid broth as much as possible, but will have sodium free Herb Ox since it's sodium free and will see if that still makes my ankles tight. I'm now only 9 days to surgery. Seems surreal. Right? In honor of today, will play a song from my beloved and much-missed fellow Texan, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Tightrope for our listening pleasure.

Here's Day 4 Food Log. Happy trails, y'all.

Uric Acid? Lord of mercy DON T tell me you've got gout too! You keep it up and they'll be scooping you onto the table with a shovel. Hope it's not the one they mucked out the barn with,your that would be TOO much. Thanx for the Stevie Ray, he's one of Texas best products along with Ernest Tubbs and yourself. Catch you a little later.

Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

43 minutes ago, kakatlady612 said:

Uric Acid? Lord of mercy DON T tell me you've got gout too! You keep it up and they'll be scooping you onto the table with a shovel. Hope it's not the one they mucked out the barn with,your that would be TOO much. Thanx for the Stevie Ray, he's one of Texas best products along with Ernest Tubbs and yourself. Catch you a little later.

Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

No gout here. But the last time I went on all protein drinks my feet/ankles swelled. When they did blood work, my uric acid was high normal, but not anything that would lead them to gout. I just think my kidneys are tired of me being fat. LOL.

Stevie Ray, Ernest Tubbs, Robert Clay, Joe Ely, Marcia Ball, I could go on and on. LOL.

Ok, so I know I pledged to be on the straight and narrow...but I really can't help myself. It's a sickness. I am very sensitive to sodium cuz I have fluid around my heart and it doesn't pump so well all the time. And the Herb Ox sodium free bullion tastes really bland without salt. Because of my BP pills, I can't add potassium salt anymore (No Salt)--so what's a chix to do?

I made tortilla soup broth. Oh, happy, happy family! I'm amazed at how satisfying it is! I'm all about ethnic cuisine and bold flavors. But don't mind bastardizing things when necessary.

So far I have: (all of these were approved my RD for use during pre-op liquid stages--the recipes are contained within this thread for posterity)

Creamy Mushroom Beef Protein Broth

Creamy Mushroom Chicken Protein Broth

Chinese Broth

Pizza Soup Broth

Tortilla Soup Broth

Tortilla Soup Broth

Serves 1

8fl oz water

1 pckt Herb Ox sodium free beef or chicken bullion

1 tsp (5g) Taco Bell Border Sauce, hot

1 pinch granulated garlic

1 pinch ground cumin

1 pinch ground coriander

1 pinch ground turmeric

s/p to taste

Nuke until piping hot. Stir and enjoy!

Nutritionals: 12 calories; 1g protein; 0g fat; 1g carbs; 0g fiber; 1g net carbs; 30mg sodium

Edited February 9, 20188 yr by FluffyChix

Day 6 is Done. Check that one off my list! I continue to do great during the day. It's so easy to manage any breakthrough hunger, and I don't really feel deprived with the liquids. I think it's because a long time ago I resolved for breakfast and lunch to just be quick bites meant only to satisfy my hunger. Weekend breakfasts/brunch were a whole other animal (ring ring: Saturday & Sunday? Please behave today mkay?). But at dinner time, the hunger really kicks up. I did ok, but while I was reheating Mr. Fluffy's dinner, I had this clear empathy for the other posters who talk about feeling emotionally and weepy about not being able to eat with their fam. I felt pretty emotional last night. So I took 4 deep breaths (4-square breathing), acknowledged it was a tough diet and sucks/is unfair (lol), and asked myself how badly I wanted it? Was the prize big enough? Would it be worth it? And I had to answer yes. So I just sucked it up, made his dinner, cleaned the kitchen while he ate, and had a sf Popsicle. When the smoke had cleared and I was no longer feeling a voracious need to feed, I made my Protein Tortilla Soup Broth and has some sf jello (2 of them--sue me). I went to bed vaguely hungry but feeling like I could commit to one more day. This morning I got up and recommitted to today.

Well done, @FluffyChix! I enjoy reviewing your food logs -- lots of good ideas for the full liquids stage. What's your post-surgery plan look like? How many weeks of full liquids before you move to purees?

5 hours ago, Apple203 said:

@FluffyChixWhat's your post-surgery plan look like? How many weeks of full liquids before you move to purees?

Ha! So glad you find it helpful and not tiresome--like--why in hell does she keep blatherin' on over here? Can't she see no one cares? LOL, but it helps me regardless, cuz I've been able to go back and see my progress, and it feels good to make it to 6 days without cheats. I can't emphasize enough, THIS is a hard 2 weeks. LOL. I think I didn't fully "get it" until I was in it. Weird but true.

Here's my post op plan:

STAGE 1: Day 1 & 2 - Liquid Diet (minimum 48-64oz liquids per day)

• sugar free clear liquids (1oz per 15 minutes=4oz per hour) - (water, calorie free non-carbonated drinks, sugar free fitness waters, decaff coffee or tea, sugar free jello, clear broths)

STAGE 2: Day home from hospital continuing 2 weeks - Full Liquid Diet (minimum 48-64oz liquids/45-60g protein per day)

Volume Measurement: 1/8-1/4 cup

• sugar free clear liquids as described in Stage 1 (no more than 8oz of any liquid per hour)
• protein powders or RTD drinks (must be less than 4g of sugar per drink and have a minimum of 15g protein per 8fl oz)
• other acceptable fluids: Tomato or V-8 vegetable juice (no fruit versions), no sugar/fat free fudgesicles, skim or Lactaid milk, Fairlife milk, strained cream soups made with skim milk, thinned down plain Greek yogurt (up to a 1/2cup serving size), sugar free pudding made with skim milk (up to 1/2cup serving size), cream of wheat thinned with skim milk and protein powder added
• no fruit juices or sugar sweetened drinks

STAGE 3: Beginning Week 3 and progressing to regular textured diet (slowly) - (minimum 48-64oz liquids per day/60-80g protein per day, eat 3 meals + 1-2 snacks daily)

Volume Measurement: 1/4-1/2 cup

• all liquids as described in Stages 1 & 2
• do not drink with meals or snacks (30 minutes before or after)
• start with pureed foods and slowly progress to soft solids then to regular textured foods--follow the surgeon's recommendations for advancement. Each phase will take 1-2 weeks per phase within this Stage 3 framework.
• chew foods to applesauce consistency, take bites no larger than a dime, eat slowly, take 20-30 minutes per scheduled meal/snack
• eat protein first at every meal >> follow with well-cooked mushy veggies when tolerable >> follow with canned fruits in water or natural juices
• limit sugar to 4g per serving and limit foods to those with sugar NOT within the first 5 listed ingredients
• limit fats to 6g per serving
• no liquid calories; no grazing (exception is 1-2 protein drinks per day until all food needs can be met with real food)
• introduce foods 1 at a time and keep a journal of any symptoms or pouch intolerance

WeightLossStage3.pdf

STAGE 4: Beginning around Week 6-7 and continuing for life - (minimum of 64oz liquids per day/60-80g protein per day, eat 3 meals + 1 high protein snack per day

Volume Measurement: 1/2-1 cup or 4-8oz by weight per meal, 1/4-1/2 cup or 1-2oz by weight per snack

• sugar free clear liquids as described in Stage 1
• protein first >> nuts/seeds/legumes >> low glycemic veggies >> low glycemic fruits >> low glycemic starches/grains
• eat slowly 20-30minutes per meal and stop at the first signal of fullness or "being done" (amount of food tolerated at one time will depend on the type of food and dryness of the food and if you are well-hydrated)
• introduce new foods slowly, 1 at a time and make note of any intolerances
• fibrous tough foods should be added very slowly and with great care

WeightLossStage4.pdf

Day 7 and Week 1 are in the bag. Cheat free! Relatively drama free--no small animals were harmed in the making of this week long epic!!! Wahhhhhh. Slap my ass and call me Fanny! And I'm down 8.4lbs. That dog WILL hunt, Sis!

Surprisingly, the week went out with a whimper. I had zero appetite yesterday and had a bit of that anorexia-high going--you know, where you have great energy, feel like you look like a brick **** house, and are just a tiny bit high/light headed feeling? So I decided to ride the wave and see where it petered out. Turns out that it ran all the way until 10pm. When I was looking around for someone to play with and everyone was sleeping. So. Much. Energy. Damn you Celebrate 3-in-1 MultiVitamin Stick and Vitamin B1 (thiamine=the energy vitamin)!!! Damn you to hell! At 1am, I'd only managed to force down 2 Premier Protein drinks (60g protein), and about eleventy billion cups of black decaf coffee. I was watching the YouTube tell me about how to hunt, fish, and cook if I was part of a primitive tribe living in Asia and only using primitive tools.

This morning, I have a little hunger, but it acts a little like a whipped pup. It's wimperin' a bit, but if I give it the stink eye, it backs down into submission. I honestly seriously questioned whether I would be able to get through this 2 week period. I'm not so worried about post surgery. I know there will be little hunger/drive to eat; and I KNOW it will be filled with suckage as any surgery is--at least for me. I know I will have 3 months of a serious learning curve that will be filled with challenges, and I think I'm prepared. But I honestly, didn't know if I would be able to travel the straight and narrow for a week--let alone 2 weeks. Food/cooking is such an enormous part of my DNA. I grew up in a Southern family of very talented cooks (men and women) and have cooked since I was 6 years old. I am a foodie, true blue. So this week of liquids has been eye opening.

I would just say for anyone reading, if you know your 2 week diet is approaching--then do yourself a favor. Go Atkins or low carb keto for the 2 weeks prior to the 2 week liquid (at least). Go ahead and have your cheats and falls as you do it, cuz you'll hit the liquid stage and you won't have nearly as much angst as you would have going fully carbed up, then screeching to a stop with the liquid diet. I'd also give up the caffeine and carbonation before hand as well. You will infinitely decrease the level of suckage.

Here's Day 7 Menu: (I kept it very clean, rather than spicing up my bullion.)

Day 8 is DONE! Woot! Der it is.

I'd like to tell you that it has gotten easier for me. But um, nope. Not as much.

I continue to do great and sail through the day until about 6pm. Then I absolutely hit a wall. Then I have to navigate preparing dinner for Mr. F. And it's not as if I really do much there during the week. I simply cook a fresh veg (nuke broccoli, etc), make a quick salad and warm some meatacular delight up and call it dinner. LOL. It's not exactly cordon bleu cooking and not a whole lot of interaction.

But last night was cooking night. I grilled him a prime NY strip that was on sale and was looking forlorn and alone in its solitary package, a couple of chickie boobs, some bone in pork loin chops, burgers, and a couple of zucchini. The meat will last him all week. I also baked a tray of thick cut applewood smoked bacon to bag and tag for the week. And I swear, I literally thought I was gonna break down and cry like a little girl.

It was fuc*ing ridiculous. Seriously. I started fretting and worrying about whether I would ever be able to sit down and enjoy a beautiful grilled rare ribeye again post surgery. And then I started kicking my booty for not having one as my last meal! That's what my last meal shoulda been! Damn you Lex Luther! You and your Texas BBQ. Then the smell of succulent grilled meat filled the house after bringing it in from the grill and we got to smell that the rest of the evening. He dined like a king. I sat and sulked in the corner, sucking back my chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie. Blacklist never looked quite so black. I plotted and plotted...

So this morning, no joy on the scale. That's ok, I think I lose for a couple of days, then nothing. It's the inch-worm approach to weight loss I guess. LOL.

Ok, so I have a feeling I need to remind myself of the week ahead.

Note to self: You have 8 days left before surgery day comes, you're driving everyone insane, so sit back, relax, quite whining and moaning, and take a cup of STFU.

Sincerely,

Me

Here was Day 7 Food Log: