What did you do? Kinda long

I am looking for what you did Right after surgery. I am a little confused about how to set my routine.  It is really weird not to beo hungry any more. this mornining I walked about 1 mile around the cul de sac, while drinking about 10 - 12 ozs of cool ade.  After coming inside I rested a while and took my last dose of Lortab.  I then took my centrum Chewab multivitamine and let that process for a while before eating one softscrambled egg.  I didn't stop at 6 bites like the nut said that I should I just took small bites a chewed really, really well.  It was nice having my daughter sit and draw for me while I ate.   So I guess my questions is is what is your routine like.  How did you schedule everything through the day.  I know I will need to eat lunch in a few hours, I am also going to try and get a protein drink down today.  I bought some eas whey chocolate from wally world yesterday and upon opening it it smells like dirt to me. I will try it any way though. As far as how I feel.  Still a little sore.  Primarily on the sides.  May still have a little gas residue left in me.  Getting up and down are the most painfull.  Sure in a few weeks this will all be a distant memory as the pounds starting melting off. Planning on weighing on Sunday. Randy

Walking will help with any residual gas from surgery.  Do you really mean Kool Aid or a non sugar drink, like Crystal Lite. Protein shakes may not taste wonderful, but they are a necessity for the first few months post op. If you'd like to read about my "journey", read my profile page. You'll get an idea of how life changes.

All Kool-ade is the Sugar free walmart brand, wylers sugarfree or Crystal Lite. Thanks for the replies guys.  I have got to get a picture of this bruise before it goes away. Randy

I think you are doing fine. It takes a while to get into a routine and then it was even different when I went back to work in 2 weeks. Then yet again, the weekends are a different routine as I sleep later and am home. I always tried to get in my water and my shakes, that way I knew I was getting my protein. It will be a while before you will be able to get all of you protein from what you eat. I am close to 5 months out and still don't get 100% from food.
When I am ready to leave the house in the morning, I drink 16 ounces of water with liquid protein. That is about 30-35 gms of protein and I get my first liquid of the day and take my vitamin and the few pills I still take. On my way to work, I drink a big cup of decaf tea. By the time I get to work at 7:30, I have had almost a full quart of liquid and protein. I usually have oatmeal or a protein bar mid-morning. For lunch I stay with tuna, cheese and cold cuts, or chili. I drink tea or water before my lunchtime and again in the afternoon for more fluid. I snack on some nuts or soy nuts in the late afternoon and do some kind of protein meat or fish meal for a light dinner. In the late evening, I have an apple, as it sits well and has a lot of fiber, if you know what I mean.
It took a while for me to work into this, but it will come. I concentrate on protein and liquids first, and then sort of concern myself with what I am going to eat. Since the pouch rules all, some days you eat a little more, some days it wants much less.
I am down 105 pounds from surgery and have felt very good with no major complaints. Just take it one day at a time and it will all fall into place for you. Just when you think you are getting into a routine, something will change and you change to accomodate cir****tances.
Best of luck and just do the best you can for you!

Lou

If you are already eating eggs you are ahead of where I was at 5 days out. My Doc had me on full liquids for 3 weeks before I could progress to soft foods. As far as what to do, what ever you fill like. Read, watch TV, cut a hole in your pocket and play...... never mind. Just remember to get in your liquids and protien. I went back to work after 2 weeks, was bored to tears after the first week. It was at the end of the year and I had already planned to take it off.  pan head

Like others have said...Protein first...then water.  Concerning a pattern or a system...you really will have to find your own.  Here are some of the things I do daily.  I would (first 6 months) drink my protein shake with milk (getting both protein an water in...Milk counts as liquid).  I would also take a muit vitamin and other vitamins at that time.  Sometime in the morning I would have some Wendy's Chili.  I would also have some cooked spinach in the morning.  Spinach has both potassium and iron.  If I started the day right with the right foods, as I got busy (or hectic), I knew that much of my requirements were taken care of.  A multi vitamin in the afternoon, some medications in the afternoon, water at my side always.  You'll be able to find your own pattern that works.  With that being said, I am sure there are guys post op here that do things that may look just as strange, but it is a system that works for them.  The first few months it seems like you'll be having to pop something in your mouth at all times.  Remember that calcium and milk products need to be taken 2 hours seperate from the iron tablets.  Always have liquid close at hand.  I would put some protein shake or cottage cheese on my nightstand...when I would pee in the middle of the night, I would have whatever was there.  Try to plan ahead, esp if you are away from home.  Plan for extra water to be in the car.  Also have one or two premade protein shakes in the car too( unless it gets to hot).  You may not need them, but if you do. they will be handy.  Again you need the protein to prevent losing muscle mass.  Men like to take on a challange...fix it...get'er done!!  You'll find your way.  Brian

Obviously, the routine changes with time.  My "routine" these days is eat when I want to, don't pig out, and don't load up on sweets between meals.  In other words, my routine is pretty much the same as most normal weight or moderately overweight people. First few weeks post-op, I had to sleep a lot and wasn't very hungry, but you have to eat.  Chew a lot, follow the schedule (but aren't you early on the eggs?  I don't remember), don't put yourself in bad situations where you'll get uncomfortable or be tempted to regurgitate.  Strictures happen in something like 5-10% of patients at 4-6 weeks (I had a bad one)), and some tightness during that time is normal for many people, so watch out in that time and be cognizant of whether it's just tight or so tight you aren't actually getting food down. Early on, the number one priority that is hard to meet is getting protein in.  I think about 100-120 grams is a good target for most men.  You will not get there without effort.  You also won't realize how poorly you are doing if you just eyeball/gestimate it.  Once I started using Fitday to track protein, I realized how bad I was doing.  After, I would be so short I'd even have to have a shake at bedtime, make myself wake up at 3AM to get another protein shake, brush my teeth, and go back to bed.  Now I meet protein goals easily 9 out of 10 days, but I still use Fitday in stretches to make sure my calorie intake is low enough (a consideration I didn't worry about at all for about 5-6 months). Some protein shakes may taste bad, but they are the #1 easiest and most cost effective way to get your protein for the first few months.  I probably had two a day on average for several months, though now I'm down to 2-3 a week.  My most common way now is to have a scoop of vanilla EAS in cold coffee that I keep in airtight containers in the fridge (very hot liquid will cause most powders to clump).  The protein substitutes for both sweetener and creamer.  Tastes close to a Starbucks to me, but I'm getting lots of protein instead of sugar and fat.  But coffee probably isn't recommended until after you heal.  The point is keep trying different things until you find what works for you (and until you find what works for you, don't buy the big sizes, even though you'll be tempted by the economy of scale).  If you search through my old posts on my profile, I tried about 70 powders back in the summer and rated them with comments, so that might give you some ideas.

Great question Randy. I used the "down-time" after WLS to educate myself as much as possible about nutritional eating, I also rebuilt my 20 year old UniVega bicycle since I figured cycling would hopefully become my exercise "passion" even though I hadn't ridden a bike in 15 years or so. Like the other guys said, early on it's all about drinking water, protein shakes, vitamins and walking. I started tracking everything I ate/drank in Fitday.com which enabled me to know exactly how much protein I was getting in and how many calories, etc. You're gonna be spending a lot of time figuring out what foods you'll be able to tolerate in the future so it's best to know which ones are healthy and which ones are less good for you and why. Best of luck.  Boner