Week 3 Results

I am happy to report that I lost another 5 pounds this week, bringing me to a total loss of 26 pounds since my surgery.  Yay!

The past 3 weeks have been sort of like an eternity and yet really fast.  I am not sure if that makes any sense, but now that I can eat soft foods, I think things will start to normalize.

This morning I made a poached egg and had 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce with 1 T unflavored protein powder.  The first bite of the egg was delicious, but then as it progressed, it made me feel a little queasy.  I am not sure if that was due to the vsg or if it was just me.  In the past, eggs have, at times, made me feel a little nauseated after eating them.  The applesauce's texture wasn't right after adding the protein powder.  It did give me an additional 10 grams of protein, however.

For a mid morning snack, I wrapped a string cheese in 1 oz of ham.  This really went down more like a meal.  But it also added another 12 grams of protein, so that's good!  I think next time, however, I want to heat it up so the cheese is more gooey, or soft.

I am not sure what I am going to do for lunch today, but tonight I plan on making the Ricotta bake I found at this link.  I have not enjoyed too much ricotta in the past, but am hopeful that if I don't care for it, my son will love it and finish it off.  It sounds like it would be a noodle-free lasagna,

Making Changes

I decided for a change of plan.  I still had today left of the full liquid diet and decided that I am ready to move to the soft diet.  I need to eat food!  The trick will now be making sure I eat enough protein and drink enough water.  And that will be a trick!  But, I am determined.

I started the day out with:

Breakfast:

1 egg

.5 oz cheese

.5 oz ham

I made an omelet with it.  It came to only 10-11 grams of protein.  Considering I need to get in 60-80 grams a day, I have a long ways to go.

Plates are about 5-6" 

Snack: 

Sugar free jello Pudding cup

2T unflavored protein powder

This came to 10 grams of protein and it puts me at 21 so far for the day.

So far, I have drank about 24 ounces of water.  I better get on it!  I will check back in later.

I finished the day out pretty good.  For lunch I had 2 oz Tuna fish and 2 oz cottage cheese.  The tuna was a bit dry even though I added some mayonnaise into it.

I couldn't quite finish it all...

I had an afternoon snack which went down really well!  I made a deviled egg and was able to eat all of it.

Dinner was 2 oz of tilapia and 1/2 small zucchini.  I foil wrapped it and baked it all together in the oven.  The zucchini was my favorite part, although the protein is what I needed more of,  The fish seemed really dry to me and so I tried to make a simple sauce using some butter, lemon juice and garlic,  It helped.  I am sure that butter isn't something I should be eating too much of, but in the big scheme of things....my calorie and overall fat content is pretty low, so I don't think it was a bad thing.

Overall, it went pretty good as far as first day eating goes.  There were moments of queasy, but they went away fairly fast.

Keeping hydrated

Getting enough fluids in each day is the bane of my existence right now.  I seem to be able to drink about 8 ounces in a sitting if I focus on it, but I sure do get tired of water.  I have even been adding some flavored additives to make it interesting, but I am so tired of sweet things.  I don't intend to sound like I am complaining...but drinking enough in a day is concerning.

I am only talking about 64 ounces here.  You would think I could manage this, but I barely make it by bedtime, and sometimes I don't.  I have to set a goal now that I WILL drink enough and get up and move more, because I am really starting to see the problems with my BM's and the way I feel in general.  I also need more exercise.  I am sure that would make a big difference in the way I feel and my body chooses to respond.

In the evenings I have been craving a dill pickle.  I haven't broken down and actually eaten one as of yet, but I have taken some sips of pickle juice.  I think that's pretty strange.  I think I am craving the salt, to be honest.  I do get in my cup of chicken broth every day.  It's really been the highlight of my day so far.  Once again, salt....

Today, I am trying to drink a full premier protein shake in one sitting.  They are 11 ounces.  I am tired of remembering to drink 1/2 four times a day.  Evening creeps up and I don't get that last ounces in.  Not good.  My son and I have a lot going on today though, and I don't want the worry of whether I got enough protein or  drank enough water while I am busy.  He leaves for his mission next week, and we still need to pick up a few items to pack.  Plus, we have been wanting to see a movie together today sometime.  Snow is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, and I'd really like to stay home where it's warm and dry tomorrow.

Awaiting soft food stage

The days keep rolling by and I am waiting with anticipation to start eating some normalish foods again. On Wednesday I get to start my soft diet plan. It will be nice to get to chew and roll flavors around in my mouth again!

Only one more week before Trey leaves for the MTC and his mission far away in Virginia. It will be strange here alone in this big house. We have reserved a hotel in Salt Lake City for the 2 nights preceding our taking him to Provo to say goodbye. Jim will have to work some of the time, so Trey and I will go on some walking adventures downtown. There are many historical sites to see. It should be nice, especially at Christmas time. I am going to miss him...

I have very little pain now and find for the most part am getting around fairly well. I am struggling again in getting my fluids in as I should. I am not thirsty! I know how necessary it is that I do though, so am trying. Also, protein shakes are starting to be something I want to avoid all together. I am trying there too, though, as I know I need that protein to stay healthy. If I count calories, however, I am only taking in around 300 a day. I hope that's normal?  I think my body is eating itself!

Week 2 Results

I have updated my weight chart, but I lost 8.6 pounds this week, bringing me to a total loss of 21 pounds in the last 2 weeks.  TWO WEEKS!?  It's crazy!  But, it's true!  I had my follow up appointment with the doctor today and I am doing well. They want me to continue the meds I have been taking to control my blood sugar and blood pressure, but if I find my blood pressure is going low, to just stop taking the medication.  She also said I don't need to check my blood sugars every 6 hours like I have been, unless I see it going high again above 150, but it hasn't done that in a week, so I don't anticipate that it will.

It's looking really good so far.  I don't have to return to see them for another 4 weeks.

Progress

In looking back over previous attempts to lose weight, I am reminded of about 7-8 years ago when I decided to try the Nutrisystem program (for the 2nd time).  I had been laid off from my job and was trying to fill my life with something to focus on while I was picking up those pieces.  I decided that I would sign up for this program, shell out a whole lot of cash and make this my primary focus.  I was somewhere around 270 pounds at the time, possibly more, but I can't find any documentation at this point to confirm the exact number.  I did just as I planned and starting following their program, eating their food as outlined and supplementing where applicable,  I also started walking every morning, sometimes in the evenings as well.  And it worked.  The pounds were falling off of me and before too long I was at 250, then 230...within 5-6 months I was down around 217 pounds.  My life was back, amd my health was back, I was fitting into much smaller sizes, very physically healthy...but I stalled there.  I was sick to death of the food (it's really not the greatest food, and it's easy to tire of the same choices I made that I could tolerate), and I got a new job.  My focus shifted to the stress of the job (and it was very stressful), and I soon lost sight of my weigh loss goals.  I quickly put back on 20 pounds, and over the next year, found myself back up to 270 again.  Very depressing, but so typical.  I was able, in later years to lose some weight again, and had maintained the 245-250 range for a few years.  Which brings me to the present.

With my weight at 247 when I had my surgery, and the fact that in the last 2 weeks I have been shedding weight rapidly, I am excited.  I believe I will in no time be at that lowest weight I can remember of 217.  I don't have an official weigh in to report today, (since I weigh in tomorrow) but this morning I did see 226 on the scale.  That is crazy to me.  To lose this much weight in only 2 weeks?  But to add some perspective, I am able to do this because of the sleeve as my tool.  I have had nothing solid to eat in 16 days, but have maintained my strength and health with protein shakes each day that equal 60 grams of protein,  Without the sleeve, I would have felt so hungry and unable to take advantage of this time where my stomach is still healing and unable to accommodate very much at one time.  Plus, I have been very vigilant at following the plan exactly as outlined.  I haven't allowed myself to test my limits to see what I can actually meet.  I believe my sleeve probably could manage a little soft food right now, but I am waiting until I have the clear to move forward.  I think I am getting better results by doing this.

Have I been tempted to eat something?  Oh yes!  Head hunger is a very real thing.  The 1st time it really affected me was on Thanksgiving.  Jim had bought himself a Papa Murphy's Canadian Bacon Pizza, (my favorite).  When it was baking, I could imagine the delicious tomato sauce and cheese and how that would taste on my tongue.  It also happened a couple days later when I cooked some pork chops for him and my son.  They looked so delicious and I really wanted to have a bite and chew on them.  I am not even a huge fan of pork chops, but these would have been fantastic.  Was I hungry?  Not at all.  I just wanted to taste.  That's head hunger.  Luckily, I know my limitations and have been very fortunate to not experience any nausea so far on this journey, so wanted to remain careful and focused.

I can predict some difficult situations in my future, but right now, it feels so good to see that scale moving down every day.  In fact it's fantastic!

I am not exactly sure how long it has been since I was under 200 pounds, let alone under 210 pounds.  I believe it was in the very early 90's, when my 3rd son was young and my last son had not yet been born.  It would have been when I was living in Arizona still and joined Weight Watchers a few times.  My guess it's easily 25 years or more.  To think, I may even see that number before the end of this year?  Unimaginable.

Premier Protein Chocolate shake, blended with small banana chunk, crushed ice a PBfit peanut butter powder.  

The Numbers So Far

I don't know why I have been having such a hard time talking about weight loss so far.  Technically, my 1 week started yesterday since Tuesday was my surgery day, but I was also released on Thursday so I think I will make Wednesday's my official weigh in day.  And, with that being said, here is the low down on numbers so far.

On the day of surgery, I weighed in at the hospital at 247.  Last Friday when I got up and took my shower here at home after leaving the hospital, my weight was 253.  I wasn't concerned because I knew there would be fluid retention and bloating, etc.  So, this morning, when I weighed in I came in at 234.6.  The only discrepancy with this number is, I know weighing in at home, naked, in the privacy of my bathroom, is much different than weighing in at the doctor, fully clothed and wearing shoes.  But, I need a solid place I can follow numbers at and I know I will not be satisfied relying on my doctor's scale to make things official, since my visits with him will not be very frequent. So from now forward, any weight I record will be my own scale. (although, with a doctor follow up today, it will be interesting to see what the difference in numbers between scales will be.)

Week one:  12.4 lbs

I will come back and update how my 1st follow up appointment went after I get home.

My appointment went fine.  Overall, I am doing good.  I saw the Nurse Practitioner, Rachael.  She was pretty brisk, sort of a let's hurry and get through all this information so we get you out the door.  She was nice, but no one is going to be as excited on my progress as I am, and I understand that.  She was concerned, however, about my blood pressure being overly high.  And, it has been.  I told her I was taking medication for that previously, but have not since the day of my surgery.  She prescribed for me to go ahead and start taking that every day, keep monitoring and I have to come back next week to follow up with her.  She also was concerned that I am not getting my fluids in as I should, and I do know that I am not quite making that goal every day, so I am committed to try harder.  She sent me to get blood work done to make certain I don't have anything going on that could damage my kidneys, and I have to get it done again next week before my 2nd follow up appointment.

One thing that I realized today that is pretty exciting news as well, is I am now 39 BMI.  I am pretty sure I haven't been under 40 for at least 4 years, maybe 5.  Good for me!!

Blood Sugar Tracking

As was my original reason for seeking information about the vsg surgery, my motivation was based on the ever increasing blood sugar I was reporting.  I had my A1C done a week before surgery and it was an all time high of 10.1.  To explain it more clearly, someone who is in this range is averaging a blood sugar glucose level of 243 every day.  Since I have been home from the hospital, I have been monitoring my blood sugar 3 times a day and supplementing as needed with insulin.  I am very excited that I see numbers like 144 or 153.  Yes, these are still higher than I want them to be, but I have not had a result like this in easily 2 years.  I feel optimism for the first time in a very long time.

Today I received flowers from my work.. They are so pretty.  The 2nd picture is the remainder of the flowers from Jim and also from Brandon's family.  Some of them were wilting so I kept the ones that were still pretty and put them together in the same vase.  Fresh flowers are so special.  I feel badly that they are just going to die, but honestly, they grow to die...so why not sitting on my counter?

Sunday night-Monday morning

Dates are running together and sleep is often very elusive for me, especially at night time. I tried going to bed upstairs in my own bed with my husband last night but only made it until midnight before I had to take my painful body back down to our oversized armchair. It's unfortunate, but my abdomen muscles and incisions were hurting so badly and laying on my side was out of the question. I will try again tonight though.

I have stopped taking the pain pills almost completely. I did have 2 of them yesterday, but considering I was taking 2 every 4 hours only having 1 -2 times in 24 hours is a big step. I was going to run out of them anyway and wanted to see what I could handle. I do still have some gas rumbling around in me and I am not sure if it is residual from the surgery or just intestinal from the liquid diet I am on. I have started taking stool softeners though because other than the aforementioned gas, I've had no bowel movements in 6 days. I also have not had a significant weight loss since surgery either but the issues just mentioned probably have a lot to do with that. I haven't been very worried about that though....it'll come. 

My husband reminded me that I have not had any solid food in my stomach since last Sunday. I don't believe I have ever, in my lifetime, not eaten anything for 7 straight days. Of course,since I am on a liquid diet, I really have a couple more weeks of this to go through. I was watching a movie a few hours ago and a woman was eating a crunchy apple. I had the normal reaction of thinking that an apple sounded really good...and then reality slammed into my head that I CAN'T eat an apple.  It was a very weird moment. I also discovered that I am not immune to the idea of food. Yesterday I was watching food videos and even a quick trip with my husband to Walmart revealed that visually I still want food. My husband picked up a rotisserie chicken for his dinner. When we got home from the store and I opened the grocery bag,the smells wafting up into my face were so intense and rich and really overpowering. It smelled wonderful. Of course, later that day when I opened the fridge to get out my protein drink, the chicken was there and it smelled much less appealing and really offensive. I must make sure that Trey finishes that chicken off today. 

So my days now consist of, checking blood sugar in the morning.  If the numbers are 120 or higher, I am to take 10 units of lantus insulin. If they are 150 or higher, then I also take regular insulin based on a sliding scale. So far, I have only had to take 2 units at a time of the regular insulin. My fasting blood sugar yesterday morning was 138!! I honestly have not seen a number like that in a couple years at least. The doctor thinks the diabetes will go away. It is possible I will always need to monitor it now to make certain I am not over those 120 or even 150 numbers. I am not sure how that will work itself out. I also never had to give myself insulin until now because I was treating my diabetes with pills. I have learned that the process is not as daunting as I once thought.

As for food...I am required to drink 4 protein shakes a day. I was using the inspire powdered protein but after a couple days of dealing with blender bottles,  clumps and foamy drinks, I admitted defeat and my husband took me to buy some of the premier protein. It's already pre-measured and I know that 1 container is 2 shakes. I can deal with it. It simplified my process and eliminated some of the dread. So far, I don't mind the way it tastes. Probably what I do mind about "food" in this stage is that almost everything is sweet. Protein shakes, jello, popsicles, G2, crystal light...I miss savory! I was never one to treat myself overly much with desserts or sweet treats, and always preferred meat or breads or something like that.  I was actually rather shocked to discover how much I enjoy and even look forward to a cup of hot chicken broth. So nice and salty.  Pre-op, I was actually dreading that I would need to drink the broth. Now, I believe it's my favorite part!  Today, I am going to step outside of the box and blend up some canned soup I bought. I am nervous about it, to be truthful. But my diet did say I could try a bean or lentil soup. I can also have a cream soup. I just have to make certain it's completely blended.

I have started a very weird habit. I get these little gasps of air, perhaps they are yawns or just sudden intakes of breath, and I immediately stifle them with a little suck in of breath. It's not even conscious, until after I realize I just did it. It's super strange. I think I am trying to protect my new little tummy from any pain or expansion?   I also find it very odd that I will sip on some liquid and it seems to go down just fine, and then a few minutes later, I get a very tight and uncomfortable pressure that stretches across from shoulder to shoulder. I have to hold my breath for a few seconds until it passes. It's no wonder it's such a struggle to get in all the liquid I need in a day.

Well, this is pretty fair recap of my journey so far. Today, Jim heads back to SLC for work and may be gone for a couple days. Trey is home with me though, and I am going to put him to work this morning. This house is a wreck and I am tired of seeing it this way. I shall sit on the couch and supervise him. He'll love it!

Day 4

It took most of the day, but I finally came home yesterday in the late afternoon. The doctor was concerned that I wasn't drinking enough, and I wasn't, but that is definitely a struggle. Additionally, the fact that I haven't peed that much was also a concern. I see what everyone was talking about. It's very difficult to drink all the time. There's no room for it all!  As of this afternoon, I am setting my timer for every 15 minutes so I can work through this cup of water that has been taunting me. 

Last night was pretty rough. I was in quite a bit of pain and much I can attribute to gas pains. I started sleeping upstairs in our bed,but it seemed so flat and difficult to get comfortable. I was able to fall asleep with much pillow propping but at 11:00 pm I woke up in a lot of pain and needed to roll over. I flopped around to the other side, but that became even more painful, so I gathered up my necessities and went downstairs to try and see if I could get some rest, sitting up on the couch. Trey happened to be coming to bed about that time so he helped me downstairs and got me situated. 

And sleep came. It was good. And I woke up this morning feeling so much better!

Today I have been getting around pretty well and drinking water. Some very exciting news is I checked my blood sugar and it was 151!! I haven't had it that low in such a long time!!  Of course, when I checked it a 2nd time 6 hours later, it went up to 166. Still, it's better than the 200+ levels from before. I now have to take insulin until I can get my blood sugar back down to normal. But, it's only day 4, so it all takes time and is a process. 

Last night, when I was sore and couldn't get comfortable, I felt so overwhelmed!  I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into. Today, I feel much more optimistic and knowi v

Can manage this. Just have to remember to sip, sip, sip!