one week out from surgery

5-29-2006 So I am one week out from being released from the hospital. You might wonder how I am feeling? The answer is great! I am acclimating myself to my new pouch quite well, I think. I am not doing protein drinks as I am able to eat meat protein without much difficulty. Also, I discovered Quaker Oat Bran hot cereal. This stuff is great. It is kinda like cream of wheat in consistency and tastes like oatmeal. One 1/2 cup serving has 7 grams of protein!!! Since I make it with milk, I am sure mine has a little more. I add vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and a little bit of splenda brown sugar and voila! A deleicious protein rich meal. Anyway I am sure you all want to know about my weight progress. As you may remember, I left the hospital weighing a whopping 301.2 lbs. Pre-op I weighed 287.5. As of yesterday I weigh 286. I am not sure how I feel about this. Will my weight loss be really slow???? I guess I will just have to wait and see. An interesting note: I am supposed to be at best on a pureed diet right now. However, I have tried quite a few non-approved items and had no adverse side effects. A list of the things I have tried: bbq'd chicken (i chopped it up in the cuisinart first), mac & cheese, graham crackers, skinless smoked sausage, and worst of all, a bite of cheesecake. Now I don't know how I should feel about all of this. I have had no dumping, no ill effects at all, that I can tell right now. What should I do? Anyone with words of wisdom, holla at your girl, lol! Please note: I have not overindulged in ANY of the above mentioned foods. At best I have had 1/2 servings of everything, less than 3 oz or so, except for the cheesecake which was the aforementioned bite...small bite. Any help will be appreciated.

WOW! I'm on the liquid diet for 14 days then I introduce milk and yogurt, then pureed foods for a total of 6 weeks!!!!! I can't imagine having that right after surgery, but it sounds sooooooooooo good! My surgery was 5/26 and feeding my kids is a bit of a struggle since everything they have looks and smells so good next to my SF jello and chicken broth!!! I don't know what to tell you aobut the other food stuff since I"m not there, but I wish you well!!!!

WOW! Take it easy. I am 2 weeks out and like you have had no problems. I have been sticking to mainly liquid protein drinks. Right now I am having my FIRST 1/4 cup of cottage cheese. YUMMY! I had about 1/4 c of spaghetti yesterday and did fine with that. I hear Taco Bell Pinto Beans and Cheese are great so that may be my next experiment. My brother made the best LOOKING BBQ chicken yesterday but I only looked and smelled and had my chocolate protein shake. As far as your weight loss goes. The first week seemed slow for me but now this 2nd week it is just falling off! I am down 20 lbs from my preop appt so I am excited. I go to the DR Thursday and hope their scales show the same. Lots of luck. Darlene

I'm actually on a liquid diet for the first three weeks (one down, two to go) and then mushies for three weeks before the doctor releases me to solids. I did get on the scale this morning and I was down 7.8 lbs from my pre-op weight, taking off the 7 lbs I gained in the hospital. I am really not hungry, just sipping on water nearly all day and doing my protein drinks. Diane

Hey TJ! Im out now just about 4 weeks and still on softs. The first week the weight really didnt move too fast but now Im down 45 in about a month. I also have been looking at other foods but taking it very slowly and just trying. I have had mac and cheese and some saltines, but i havent been brave enough for something sweet! LOL Good luck to you it will fall off soon...just weight! Steph

Hey, it is good to hear from supporters!!! I posted the same message on the rouen y board and got properly chastised. I know I shouldn't go off my diet, and on the whole I haven't. I eat pureed soups with additional meat added for protein, cream of wheat and my new favorite, oat bran cereal, most of all. I have not had anything chewable, besides the two graham crakers and they were well chewed before swallowed with very little bites. I do not mean to be bad, but sometimes we slip and we fall. I was so good in the two weeks before the surgery and the first few days out, but then, some stuff happened, I stressed and there you go, two graham crackers. Well meaning pepole from church sent over the most tantalizing food and I could not resist a bite or two. I swear that is all it was. But I do realize that for me "a couple of bites" is a slippery slope I used to fall down quite often. So no more. I am back on track guys. Tomorrow's goal: 64 oz of water. I have managed to get pretty close (60 oz or so) but never the magical 64. So tomorrow, its oatbran, protein drink (yuck!) and water, water, water. Wish me luck.

Luck to you girlfriend. Sounds like you have had some awesome food! I'm Pre op till TOMORROW then it's LOSERVILLE! Keep your chin up and remember each minute is a new opportunity to correct the evils of FOOOOD choices that weren't so great. Hop on the "OMG I can't believe I used to eat THAT" wagon! Just think of the NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS saying. Big hugs! Shele

Ok, so its 8 am and I am starting my day with...an Isopure Island punch protein shake!!!. I added it to 10 ounces of water a couple of cubes of ice, some crystal light and two tablespoons of cherry italian ice no sugar added). It is not that appetizing, but it is tolerable. 60 g of protein per serving!!! There ya go. I am back on track!!!

Hello, Just a quick reminder that our body can only absorb at best 35g of protien in one sitting. So although your drink is 60g - you may want to spread it out over the entire day because you won't benefit from the last 30g if not.

Darn it! Nobdy told me that! Now I guess I will have to drink another at lunch time, sigh. Well, I guess two shakes per day is nowhere near as bad as five, which is what I was attempting to do pre surgery. BTW, does that mean if you drink a 30g protein shake, you only absorb part of it? Perhaps I should think about upping my daily protein goal? Hmmm...I will ask the dr. and his staff this Friday when I go in for my check up.