WORRIED :(

CAN SOMEONE give me some good advise? i had my RNY on 11-26-07 and i have lost 40 lbs. i know thats not bad, but i am stuck in a funky mode of only eating; cottage-cheese yogurt applesause poached egg and tuna salad w/fat free may i like to drink a nutrition shake prn. i have good and bad days. my surgeon gave me the ok to begin a 30 min cardio, but i have no energy. i just dont feel like im doing this right i absolutly cant drink plain water, so i drink crystal light. my nut. seems to think we only need to communicate once a mo. since she is a 3hr drive from me. i just feel confused. any advise i would appreciate....thanks

Hi Kim! I had my surgery on 11-07-07 so I'm just about a week ahead of you...I think you're doing great weight wise...we all lose at different speeds...don't compare yourself to anyone else. As for food...I know what you mean...it's easier to just eat that soft stuff, isn't it? I had to go back to soft stuff for a bit when everything seemed to give me the foamies. Now I'm pretty much eating whatever I want just small portions and chewing really well...and of course focusing on getting in my protein. Have you tried chicken? Some people don't have very good luck with it but I've done ok lately. I make a lot of different soups...and I really like beans for their protein content and my pouch seems to like them. What about chili? Have you tried Fage? It's a Greek yogurt you can find at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Wegmans type grocery stores...it's high in protein and low in all the stuff we don't want (you just need to make sure and buy the fat free stuff) I mix that with all kinds of stuff... What else...how about lunch meat? It's moist and high in protein. You can also do cheese, but try to stick to fat free or at least low fat. I don't like fish but it's an excellent source of protein and everyone says it "sits well" in the pouch. Have you had your blood work done since surgery? Are you taking all your vitamins? I'm concerned about your lack on energy...sounds like you might be deficient in something...I feel great...although I have found I need more sleep than I used to get pre-surgery but I think it's because I'm so much more active! I do 30-60 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week now. When I had my blood work done at the beginning of January I was deficient in Vitamins A & D...and I'd been taking my multi and calcium as prescribed...so it's possible to be deficient even if you're taking your vitamins. There's nothing wrong with Crystal light...why can you not drink plain water? You don't like the taste or it doesn't go down right? Hope you get to feeling better...don't be so hard on yourself...this isn't that tough, relax and enjoy the process! Keep coming to the boards there is a lot of good advice and support here. If you haven't been on the main board or the RNY board I'd suggest them...they get a lot more "traffic" than this board. Heather

hi heather, thank you for the wonderful advise. i know its tuff just starting out. as with the water, it dosent settle with me, its yuck, and you have me as to why ! LOL no havent tried any lunch meats, or cheeses. im still trying to develop an appetite i had a cbc last mo. maybe i should go back and do another one. i had my b-12 at the first of this mo. i do 30 min workouts 4-5 dys a wk. i guess some days are better than others. i hope i will get in the full swing of things.....thank you so much........kim

I have not had my surgery yet but I hear people refer a lot to "the foamies". Can you explain exactly what this is? Thanks. Sally

Just a few things I've learned in my journey, which started with RNY on 11/20/07: I was having a hard time drinking water, or pretty much any liquid, until somebody suggested I try putting ice in things. The transformation was amazing! If you can handle ice cold without having spasms, that may help with water. Can you drink milk, and diluted fruit juice? SF popsicles are also good sources of fluid. I was told that reheating food can dry it out and make it hard for our pouches to handle, so we are supposed to avoid that if possible. I love shrimp, and it's a great source of protein. You could try some peanut butter on ww crackers, or nuts. Whenever I try something new, I try to do it when that new food isn't supposed to be my meal. Then I take one bite, or two if the first one goes fine, and then wait 10 minutes or so to make sure my body doesn't rebel. That way, if I don't tolerate well, I don't lose my meal. Sometimes I can eat one thing just fine one day, and the next my pouch completely rejects it. Normal, though irritating. Yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese are still important parts of my menu. They are easy to eat, and I've never gotten sick from them. sick of them? Yes. But never sick from them. I know a lot of people like chili, I personally don't like it, but I can eat low fat beanless chili, or beanless turkey chili. My nurse clinician also told me to wrap fresh cut deli meat around my cheese, double whammy protein, and yummy. She stressed that it be the fresh cut deli meat, not the prepackaged stuff, because it is just all around better for us (no artificial preservatives and all that garbage). Ever try any corned beef hash? That works pretty well for me. I know that scrambled eggs are hard for some people to handle for a while, but I have done ok with scrambling one egg with some cheese. have you tried any blender drinks? Have you started looking at cookbooks, or picked up any cookbooks specifically for WLS? Maybe preparing some new foods will help you out? As far as low energy goes, I agree with the other poster, you may have some low vitamin and mineral levels in your body, so getting tested may not be a bad idea. Or, you could be in that hibernation mode that is not uncommon after WLS, and I don't know if there really is anything that can be done for it but wait it out and push through. However, ask your MD. How are your moods? Even mild depression can cause fatigue and decreased desire to move. It's common for our hormones to go a little wacky, and I think we all know how that can affect our normal lives. If you don't know, well, that could be affecting you right now. I know that when i started exercising, my energy level increased. I got lazy for a few weeks, and my energy decreased. I started back up again, and energy is back up. Sometimes the hardest part of exercising is just getting up and doing it. I know it's important to me that I pay attention to how good I feel during and after and exercise session, it helps me stay motivated. Well, that's about all I've got right now. Hope something in here will be helpful to you.

hey hi! thank you for your input, i really appreciated it. as far as eating, i really havent had an appetite i am finding out i love oatmeal!! it stays with me. yes i work out 30 min on a gazelle, and stationary bike 4-5 xs wk. well i had a cbs a mo. ago, so i guess i better go back. what a challenge hey?! would do it over again.....thank you so much... take care kim

ladies, thank you for your great advise. any support is much appreciated. i will make an effort to try some of the items, that you both listed. nice to know some one out there is listening!! take care, god bless...and many thanks......kim

Where are you on vitamins? I had been low energy and reviewed the specific brands of vitamins with my nutritionist. I was using a liquid B Complex. It turns out most liquid B Complex's are missing B1 (thiamin) which is essential for energy so now I take that separately. As someone else mentioned, I've discovered that ice cold beverages are so much easier for me to get down than cool / room temp beverages. I've never like ice cold before! You can also try Propel water (light flavor to it). Hot tea works for me too -- anything freezing or hot. SF popsicles are a joy. I am definitely pushing for some variety in my food. I don't want this to be like Weigh****chers where everything worked as long as I followed my tunafish regime. Some ideas: shrimp (chew well) with ****tail sauce; veggie chili (I pick it up from a nearby restaurant and dump it into a couple containers to take to work); also recipes from egg-face's blog (www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com) Good luck. Kelly

Hi Kim. Can relate to your situation. I had my RNY from 1992 revised 11/13/2007 and later had a stent in my esophagus for 6 weeks because I had a gastric leak. Needless to say this affected food tolerance. Fat free turkey breast, any kind of white fish or salmon(being careful not to overcook) and little bits of stewed chicken have worked OK for me. Reheated food still doesn't agree with me even if it is quite moist. Wouldn't worry too much about difficulty tolerating plain water - that has been the most common complaint I've heard from fellow patients when I've gone to post-op doctor appointments. Good luck!

Hello I got stuck with water but ice did help me also I had an open RNY 11/7/07 food is so differant for us now or at least for me I have found I do not like quit a bit of food i use to but crave raw veggies with a little non fat dressing or plain it is a nice snack bu****er has been a problem for me, but the vitamin water by glaceau is good water like cystal lite it helps me get the fulids in I kept getting light headed because of dehydration so it helps keep me hydrated. i went on b12 vit. subligal they disolve under your tongue and i get them at walgreens here. only place i can find them........ it helps with energy. gl on your journey remember you are still recovering though so it will take a while for your body to get back to completely normal.. or at least what i was told by my dr. best of times to come!!! cathy