My liquid diet

It's been 9 days since surgery and I'm feeling pretty good. I went out last night to one of my daughters choir performance and I even drove there and back.

I'm still waiting for that burst of energy I've heard others report about. I still feel very weak. So the weakness is what is preventing me at this point from returning to a normal routine.

I have lost 19 pounds so far. That is from the beginning of my liquid diet. So 19 pounds in 2+ weeks.

Here is what my liquid protein diet consists of:

3-4 oz every hour with 2 oz of water in-between. goal is 60-100 grams of protein a day.

Pure protein shake
Premier protein shake
Synthaphase chocolate peanut butter *
Synthaphase strawberry
Isopure juice
Isopure smoothie *
Proti soups*
Proti jello
Sugar free jello
Sugar free Popsicles
Chicken and beef broth
Plain Greek nonfat yogurt *
Sugar free pudding mixed with protein powder*
Whey protein powder
Very thin oatmeal or cream of wheat*

* = what I am enjoying the most

When looking for the right protein drink I'm looking for a few criteria.

Whey protein, preferably isolate not concentrate.
High protein (20-30) grams
Low carbs - no more than 6 or 7

If they meet these criteria then they are okay for me.

Weak on day 5

I am so weak tonight. I looked over the sample menus the doctor gave me and I feel like I am not taking in enough protein. I need about an ounce more each hour and I think I will feel better.

That will be my goal for tomorrow.

Home on Christmas Day

Today is day 5 since surgery. And it's Christmas! A bit of a different Christmas for us since I am not able to make our traditional Christmas breakfast but it's still a lovely day.

I feel better than I expected to be feeling. I am up, walking around, but still taking it easy. I just took my first regular tylenols for pain ( I took 3 ) and I'm feeling ok. It hurts when I try and get up from a horizontal position. I still can't sleep on my side which has been driving me crazy but oh, well.

I didn't realize how many pills I would have to be taking. And there are only 2 that are temporary. The rest are lifetime. Sheesh, crazy going from no pills to about 15 a day. It will take practice to make it a routine part of my day. Anyone know of any cute pill boxes?

I can also see how easy it is to become dehydrated. This is also strange for me because I've always been a water guzzler. But i know my stomachette can only hold about 4 oz so that means after I drink my 3 oz protein drink every hour I only have room for another ounce of water. So I sip water all day long and my urine is still dark as if I'm not getting enough water. Yesterday I upped my water intake to see how it would feel and I did fine. So now I know I can drink more than I think.

It's a learning game

Post-Op

I was surprised at how calm I was while being prepped for surgery. They didn't give me anything extra to calm my nerves. Because of this I actually remember being wheeled into the surgery room. But that was short lived because soon after I arrived they gave me something and I don't remember anything else.

Next thing I know I am in my room and I can hear my sisters voice. I just wanted to hold her hand. My youngest daughter was with her as well.

The oddest thing about being in the hospital was that my blood sugar was super high. The first reading they took was 196. Then it went down at each reading. As of right now, it's 36 hours since surgery and my latest reading was 105. I'm sure it was just the stress of the whole surgery.

Pain level has been okay. For most of the day I was dealing with air bubbles in my new stomach and intestines. It was PAINFUL. But tonight I have been able to pass that gas and I'm feeling much better. Other than the gas pain I haven't felt any other pain.

The morning after surgery they took me to X-ray to check for leakage. You have to stand against a wall and drink this nasty liquid. When you are cleared with no leaks you get to start on your liquid protein diet.

I think I go home tomorrow!

Night Before Gastric Bypass Surgery

Today during all of my pre-op stuff I was encouraged to spend some time tonight journaling and taking my measurements.

It's hard to believe its tomorrow. I check in at 6:00 am. I started this process back in April and I have focused so much on getting to this point that it's a bit surreal that it's here.

I am hoping to lose 100 lbs and to live a life free of diabetes and foot pain Those are my main goals. I have high cholesterol that I've had since my early 20s and I'm not sure if that will go away. Time will tell.

I look forward to the day when I won't be embarrassed of my weight. The time where i ran into an old boyfriend and he didn't recognize me because i had gained so much weight. That's embarrassing and makes you feel terrible. Or the numerous times when traveling in thailand and they would go get a sturdier chair for me. Or the time when Chris and I were taking pictures in Puerto Rico and I sat and broke a chair.

I will be happy to not have to worry about insulin injections for diabetes. I haven't had that but practically every family member over the age of 50 on my moms side has. With my current trend, it was just a matter of time.

I hope to be a strong role model for my children. "I can do hard things" and they can too.

My concerns are of course gaining the weight back. Also how it will feel not being part of the "big person club". There is a certain camaraderie among those that are overweight. And persons among that circle may not feel comfortable around me. I have already experienced this somewhat with comments that have been made about me doing this surgery.

Overall, tonight I am not nervous. I feel well educated and know that I am in good hands. I can hardly "weight" to see what the future will bring my way.

One Week Before Surgery

I was put on a liquid protein diet for the week leading up to my surgery. Day 3 was the toughest for me. I felt irritable, weepy and a bit depressed. At one point I just sat there thinking " what's wrong with me?" I realized it was probably my brain saying "hey, what's going on?" but overall I did just fine on it. I lost 10.7 lbs that week and very rarely did I feel hungry. I attribute that to the high amount of protein I was drinking a day, 90-120 grams a day.

I started keeping track of my diet and vitamins and weight with a website called www.myfitnesspal.com. Its fantastic. There is also an app you can download for free if you have an iPhone or an android phone.