Maple Cinnamon Pancake Protein Shake, and "Lady Talk"

Ok, so I'm a day late... Sorry loves. Here's the recipe, though, as promised!

Maple Cinnamon Pancake Protein Shake

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp sugar-free maple syrup

8 oz./1 cup skim milk

That's it! Blend that sucker up and enjoy! Om nom nom.

Ok, this part is for the ladies I suppose. Though, truly, men - don't be scared... It's just our bodies, right? :P Ninnies.

.............Ready?

I got my period last Thursday, and it was very heavy. It continued to be very heavy through Monday. Now, normally, I usually get my periods approximately every 45-60 days, and they are incredibly light, because I have a Mirena IUD. I asked my nurse, she said she figured it would be the other way around (lighter periods), but she said to contact my gynecologist to see about more information. So I called my gynecologist and left a message, since she was out of the office. When I talked to her on Tuesday, my flow had already gotten very light. So I spoke to her about it, and she said it's probably just your dietary changes and rapid weight loss, and your body is just trying to adjust. But, if I wanted to, I could come in for an exam just to make sure nothing was amiss with my IUD (though all she would be doing really is feeling for the strings, as she said - and that I can do that on my own of course). I was planning on making an appointment and then I got disconnected en route to the appointment setter lol. But I think it was for the best.

Because! Not being satisfied with either healthcare professional really knowing what was happening (like my fat foot...siiigh), I went to the internet! Of course. Other people on the gastricsleeve.com forums had spoken about this same problem, and a majority of them had Mirena IUDs. SO! More investigation. I came across this article at My Dukan Diet (author has since moved to this blog). I found it to be much, much, much more helpful than any of the doctorly advice I had received, and it immediately calmed my nerves. Please read the article - it's very well-written and researched rather well in my opinion. Anyway, while I got a shaky answer out of my gynecologist, this was kind of my solid double-confirmation.

Unfortunately, it doesn't help my problems, lol. But it explains a lot...the heavier bleeding, but also my insane acne that I've been having starting just over a week ago. Hooray, estrogen having a field day! In addition, I had my horrendous doom cramps in my right ovary... Off and on, I will get cysts on that ovary (only that one) that go away on their own; unfortunately, since they're so minor, there's nothing really to be done about it. So, this was one of those times. Though this is not an official/listed side effect of the Mirena IUDs, it's not uncommon at all. I'm concerned that if I went to my gynecologist and explained this all to her, she would remove the IUD and put me on the pill, which is used often to regulate estrogen more closely, as well as deal with acne. I used to be on the pill, and I was very bad about taking it. I wouldn't take it at the same time every day, mainly. Which means it wouldn't be working like it ought to be. I still cannot take a pill at the same time every day. I take pills every day, yes, but when they fit into my time table - and not at strict times by any means. In any case, DO NOT WANT. Seriously. Also the IUD is much cheaper for me in the long run, and more appropriate - since I'm pretty damn sure I don't want children, and a long-term birth control is much more suitable for my needs.

Still experiencing some light bleeding as of today, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was by any means. I hope that the next one won't be as earth-shatteringly-terrifying as this one was.

What I'm Eating, 1 month out

So, here's a snapshot/example of what my meals are currently looking like, as I continue to transition from purees to soft/solid foods.

Morning: protein shake, usually just regular protein powder + water

• Right now I'm using Dymatize ISO-100 whey protein powder, milk chocolate flavor (discontinued?) picked up at my local GNC. I recently reordered from Amazon, and went for the gourmet chocolate, so we'll see how that goes!

Mid-morning or mid-afternoon:   low-fat or part skim mozzarella string cheese

Lunch: 2 oz of lunch meat, lean

• Turkey or roast beef at the moment; ones that would be definitely out: bologna, pepperoni, salami, etc.

Dinner: "interesting" protein smoothie

• This is where I try out some of the recipes I find around the internet - I have a Pinterest board for those recipes, of course. I had to separate it out from my 'old' food board, since I didn't particularly want to wade through all the delicious stuff that I can't have anymore!

Dessert: optional! Sometimes I will have pudding, or an amazing apple cinnamon Greek frozen yogurt that they sell at Giant (store brand!), but that's only if it's around and/or made. Otherwise, by the time I'm done dinner, I probably won't be hungry again the rest of the night.

I am hoping to start more solid foods at dinner time, though. It's just hard at the moment because we have a lot of "Dave food" in the house, and not much "Laura food" other than a ton of smoothie stuff, lol! Sooo, smoothies are where it's at. I made a delicious maple cinnamon pancake smoothie last night...which unfortunately I can't seem to find on the internet. (I'll transcribe it later tonight for you guys!) And there are some really swell ones I've been making; not very many duds.

One of the savory things I have made is protein crepes. I did a manicotti-type filling with fat free ricotta, reduced fat mozzarella, and basil/oregano. It ended up being 26 grams of protein! Sweet. It made a kind of "smallish" crepe, imo, but I don't think it was meant to be filled like I filled it. Either way, it was fantastic. I made one for my boyfriend with spinach, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil (and oregano)... It was kind of ginormous so I had to fold it into a square shape instead. Either way, om. Nom. Nom. Delicious. So I'm very excited to make that again! (BTW, I used unflavored protein powder, though if you wanted to make one on the sweeter side, you could use flavors like vanilla or chocolate. Lots of room for experimentation here!)

Ok, onward and upward! (Or, downward, I guess. :D)

Keeping Up

This week has been incredibly difficult for me. I have been exhausted all the time, to the point of starting to drift off while driving. I am struggling to get my protein intake in, which might be why I'm so tired. So far I have only had one day that I was able to get in 70+ grams of protein. The rest of the days, I average somewhere around 40. The real issue is that for me to supplement that protein, I need to drink Isopure every day pretty much.... And I can't afford that. I can't afford to buy drinks that cost $4.50 a bottle. I don't like the Nectar protein powders at all (I think they're foul), and anything else that has been a protein "drink" instead of "shake" has been an incredible waste of time and taste buds. SOOOOO, there's that. On the plus side, I'm doing decent on my hydration! So...there's that as well! Yay!

I'm working along on soft foods pretty well! After the asparagus hiccup. I've had some string cheese, raspberries, banana, deli turkey meat, and that's all been fine. :) I tried making some mashed cauliflower last night and followed a specific recipe, and it turned out like awful gruel. It was so bad that even though I had spent a long while on it, I took 3 spoonfuls and dumped the rest. (Can't link the recipe unfortunately - it was in one of the cookbooks.)

I'm keeping a little notebook with two columns - protein and hydro. It's definitely making me more accountable to myself.

I think my exhaustion has just been from being back at work full-time, and being very, very busy at work. Most days I haven't gone out for lunch, just because I've been working on this, that, or the other thing. Today is also more or less one of those days. But part of it is that I push myself beyond my physical and mental limits always. And there's pretty much no one to stop me from myself, lol.

Things have been a little tense with Dave.. I haven't been feeling very "special," and I think it's just not really communicating as much as we had been when I was home all the time. Being at work and being busy has been depressing and exhausting (and lonely! since I hardly talk to anyone on a personal level at all, all day long). So I'd like to come home to my love standing there with open arms and asking me about my day and telling me about his, or just texting me throughout the day with something to say, anything interesting... Otherwise, just blankly asking "how's it going"... it hardly means anything. Especially down here in "the South" where people just say that passing by each other on the sidewalk. Up in NJ/PA/etc, that never happens - if they say anything, it might be hello, good morning, good afternoon, evenin', whatev - but that's rare, and usually only in the neighborhood. Whatevs, sorry for the tangent. Anyway! Dave put together a really sweet basket of stuff for me on Wednesday that made me cry - because he was thinking about me, and about the shitty day I was having, and my general poor attitude for days and days. I should always realize he loves me, but clearly if I'm not interacting with him in-depth, it gets to me.

Oy vey, this has been a rambly post. Sorry about that folks... I'll try to be a bit more focused next time. Til then!

Dietary progression/regression

I talked to Dave about this a little last night, since I haven't really talked about it at length with anyone yet. I had posted to the gastricsleeve.com forums about this, but haven't really got much info, other than asparagus = no, because it's fibrous. Didn't think about that one, thought it was one of the "good guys". :'(

Unfortunately, not much help in regards to the fact that I'm having difficulty getting down protein shakes and smoothies. It's not that I feel the need to vomit, it's just incredibly full feeling almost immediately. And this definitely wasn't happening when I first started on the upward dietary progression! The doctors and nurses especially stressed to me that if you feel full, stop, because one more bite/sip could make you throw up or cause extreme pain. So where's the middle ground? I need to get my protein in, and it's been incredibly hard. I can't afford to drink Isopures every day - at $4.50 a pop, I can hardly afford more than a few at a time.

For example, I made an amazingly delicious apple cinnamon protein smoothie yesterday morning. It was pretty great on the first time through, though a bit chewy (tooooo thick, plus flaxseed always makes things a bit chewier). I watered it down for round 2. Harder to get through. Round 3, same. I could hardly finish the 8 oz I made for myself over an hour - which is the time it should take to get through it. I'd get through maybe 2 ounces and feel super full, and have to wait 20 minutes or so until I felt capable of going at it again. The downside with that smoothie/shake is that it doesn't have a lot of protein, comparably - only ~33 grams in the whole shebang. So I only ended up with about 11g of protein in each of my servings. The reeses protein shake I made has a lot more, but that's because of the double helping of protein. But still. I unfortunately need to get used to leftovers, since I've kind of hated them all my life. Having the same thing for every "meal" yesterday kind of killed me. But at the same time, if I don't force myself to have it again, I will just make something new and it will most likely go to waste and need to be thrown out.

In other news, one of the forum members did make a suggestion about having issues with just plain protein shakes (protein powder + water - even milk makes me intolerably full and slightly queasy). Maybe it's the whey? So I'm trying out a soy isolate shake today, and I gotta say I'm not impressed or enjoying it. It definitely has a weird taste/mouth-feel that I'm not impressed with. I'm wondering if maybe I'm developing lactose intolerance - or the very miniscule issues I had with it years ago are coming back. In which case, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!! Not sure what I would do after that. I also know that I'm not good with eggs, though my primary care physician was like, meh, maybe you just had too many, just don't have them for awhile. Well, how will I know if I have an allergy if I don't eat them and have a reaction? Derp, can't you just test me anyway? Nope. Double derp.

All in all, I'm pretty stressed about the state of things and my stomach not cooperating. I have an appointment a week from today with the nurse, so I'm going to bring these things up to her. I'm supposed to be on soft foods (stage 4), and it doesn't really bother me that I'm not there yet, but at the same time, I'm concerned that I'm hardly able to do full liquids (stage 2). :(

Small dietary drama and recipe reorganization

So, I was pretty eager to try and start on some soft foods. Last night I picked up a steamer bag of asparagus and steamed the hell out of them, so they were pretty mushy. I cut them up small, the "size of my thumbnail", and ate as slow as possible. I filled up so quickly, I couldn't believe it. I probably ended up eating 5 stalks total. They sat fine! I was so glad. Even if I felt much fuller than when I've had anything else.

So, today, for lunch, I went back to the asparagus and did it again. I don't know if I ate too quickly or what, but I've had an unpleasant pressure in my chest/stomach ever since. I took an anti-nausea pill because I was feeling queasy, and it wasn't helping for quite some time, but I'm feeling mostly better now. Not sure where I want to go from here, truthfully. Maybe I should try making cauliflower "mashed potatoes" or something that has a closer to puree consistency. Oh well :\

In trying to find more recipe suggestions for soft foods and the like, I've been turning to a few books, as well as the internet. (Well, mostly the internet, because I prefer to pin my recipes...) I already own Recipes for Life After Weight Loss Surgery by Margaret Furtado and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery by Patt Levine. From my local library I checked out The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery, also by Margaret Furtado. (I also accidentally took out an earlier version of the first book mentioned...whoops!) Of all of the books, I find the first one to be the most helpful. It's laid out very clearly in what stage you would be at for that recipe.  However, the only book that's mentioned VSG (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) on its own is the Complete Idiot's Guide - and for that I am very grateful. For a surgery that is increasingly common and/or "popular", it should really bear greater mention then just "oh, you kind of follow the same dietary track as the Lap-Band."  Lastly, the book by Levine also has a great strength in that it lists ways to customize any of the recipes for whatever stage you're at. All of these books have their share of strengths and weaknesses and absurdly similar titles (hence my accidentally checking out an earlier edition of a book I already own).

Onto something else...

I have been doing a lot of experimenting lately with different protein shake/smoothie recipes. Some of them have been absolutely fantastic, some of them....mmm not so much. I am on a crusade against bananas at the moment, i.e. don't want them in my smoothies or shakes, since the banana flavor overpowers anything else. I like bananas well enough, although pretty much just raw is fine by me. But...yeah. Anyway! Moving along. Looking for new things that have different components, so I can build on the basic protein powder flavors I have. (Currently I have vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, unflavored, and "banana creme" for Dave, not me obviously.) In any case, there are obviously tons of resources online. Two great resources that I especially liked tonight were a pretty comprehensive list of shake recipes at Dashing Dish, and a quick-n-dirty table of 144 different protein shake recipes at Fit Desk Jockey. The recipes at FDJ aren't specifically for weight loss, though - the ones that are specifically for bulking up say so. But, obviously, you can use your best judgement - "Wait, this has a Snickers bar in it? Uhhh..." (Random example - I don't think any of them actually have that.)

Also, as I mentioned earlier, I prefer the interwebs to books just because I love having recipes on my Pinterest! Today I spent a good while weeding through my recipe board to separate out the healthy vs regular recipes. Granted, some of the ones on mine aren't healthy across the board for everybody - there are some buttery almond bars that have gobs of butter. Low to no carb, but very high in fat - so there are things with both positives and negatives obviously. The board won't be for everyone, though some of the recipes are just general low-calorie or low-fat options as well. In any case, I definitely want to share my pinterest board - http://pinterest.com/raphaelsmuse/om-nom-the-super-healthy-laura-version/ - as a resource as well. Many of the online forums have recipe threads as well - gastricsleeve.com, verticalsleevetalk.com, and thinnertimesforum.com (just found out about the last one!) - so those are also incredibly invaluable resources.

Back into the maelstrom

So, today is my first day back at work, even though it's just a half day. My desk was literally clean, but not actually clean. There's a huge stack of work for me to do, and my tendency is to try and knock it out as soon as I get it. I'm having to force myself to slow down so I don't go under.

In addition, I've been struggling for a few days to get my protein and liquids in. My liquids haven't been as bad, and I'm paying close attention to my body's signals to watch for any signs of dehydration. Protein...just having difficulty because I've been having stomach trouble with getting protein shakes down. I've been able to do some Isopure Zero Carb (waters), but it leaves an odd film on my teeth, and it makes my breath stink. I've been trying to make some smoothies, but they're touch and go. So many of them use bananas, I guess for a thickener? But they end up all tasting like banana. I made a pumpkin pie smoothie last night that was best described by Dave as tasting like "banana with pumpkin spice." Yes, I included the pumpkin. The sum of the shake was 30g of protein, but I was only able to finish half last night. I took the rest for lunch today, but about halfway through that I had to stop... just discomfort and a little bit of nausea. Don't know if it was the taste or what. Alas.... alas. I am going to have to do some more finegling.

Officially Return to Work Date

I'm officially set to return to work this Wednesday, for half days Wed/Thurs/Fri. I heard back from the nurse late in the day when I called her last week, and I'm hoping I'll be ok. I will be back to work one day shy of my 3 weeks, but I think I'll be ok. I may try and do a clear liquid diet on Wednesday so I'll be "safe" and shouldn't expect any stomach upheaval. I'm not terribly concerned about getting carsick with the commute, since it will only be about 30 minutes.

I've forgotten/gotten over the fact that I will probably never have this much time off from work for the rest of my life. Thankfully, Life has interceded and kicked that right into the corners of my mind.

I'm a tad concerned about some "firefighting" I'm going to have to do when I get back, but I don't think it's anything I can't handle, as long as I take my time. I think the half days will be really helpful in that regard. I've checked my work email a few times and responded to things that I can, but clearly I'm going to need to make a to-do list when I get back to accomplish things that I said I would do when I got back, such as ordering rip-rap, taking care of county tax bills, and sorting out invoice complications.

There's a good chance I haven't said what my job is before. I am an office assistant, and though my pay grade and place on the official totem pole is pretty low (with the low salary...*fume*), my actual place is pretty high within my section. I am the primary/only person who does purchasing, and the primary person who does payroll. There are ways other people in my section can do it, but it would be such a clusterf-- that it wouldn't be worth it at all. As it was, the last payroll was really touch-and-go, even with me doing as much preparation beforehand to get things to go smoothly. Oh well - when people don't take my instructions/help/advice seriously, then it's out of my hands. I know I will still catch flak for it, but that's nothing new. It's always easier to blame someone else, especially subordinates who have no redress.

Meh, meh. Work is not so hot to go back to, but I know I'm valued by those who matter, and have friends there, so I can do it! I CAN DO IT! *puffs out chest and fist pump to try and pysch self up*

So, I finally had some issues

(By the way - I don't know if any of you have recognized this, but I have a predisposition to starting posts, paragraphs, sentences with "So,". I know it's pretty unnecessary, but it's how I do! How. I. Do.)

Saturday night, I started having some diarrhea after having the soup. I'm guessing it's due to the richness of it? But I also had other new things - caffeine (Earl Grey and generic Lipton tea) as well as Equal. I know you're not supposed to try more than one thing at a time, but obviously I was like "ha~, my stomach's been complacent/compliant/etc, so I'll be all good!". Yeah, no. So, my stomach woes continued through Sunday morning and throughout the day.

Our (Dave and my) original schedule for the day was to go to lunch with my friend, check out my sister's new digs, and then head up to Manhattan for a concert he was playing at a club on the Lower East Side. Well! I had already had trouble being carsick on the way up, which has never happened to me in my life. With the stomach troubles continuing, there was just no way I was going to be able to make the haul up to NYC (2 hrs), hang out in a club, then 2 hrs back, or 5 hrs if we went directly from NYC home (and get home like 1 am). Since I was home, I wouldn't've been able to just have Dave drive my car - and something I probably wouldn't have done anyway. My dad would have wigged. out. if Dave drove my car. And I would've been wigging out too, since he's still a pretty green driver and New York City was treacherous for me, and I'm seasoned and savvy. So all the plans got jumbled up, like they were thrown in a hat and shaken by a five-year-old. What ended up happening was we hung out with my friend at her house instead of going out to lunch (I was sticking to clear fluids, so at least I followed those instructions for post-stomach-upset), then came back and packed up the car, then drove Dave up to the Hamilton New Jersey Transit station so he could take the Northeast Corridor train up into NY Penn Station, then take the F train over to the club. This is of course all with his guitar and amp and clothes - generally this that and the other thing. He has never had a case for his electric guitar, so we managed to find a case at home (thank god for pseudo-musicians in the family!), though it was an incredibly poor fit and made his guitar bang around. So it was padded with all his crap. Needless to say, he was lugging around some serious weight. After the concert, he had dinner at The Meatball Shop, then hopped back on the train and headed over to the Javits Center to pick up a Megabus at 11 (pm) to come back to Baltimore directly. While he was doing his things, I drove back from the Hamilton station and checked out my sister's new digs, then drove home on 40, the more circuitous/pokey route, so I would be able to stop pretty much any time if I needed to. It ended up taking me a lot longer to get home than expected, but I survived. I also pre-emptively took an anti-nausea pill, full well expecting the car sickness to return. Then I dootzed around at home, fell asleep for about an hour, then woke up again at 1:30 to go pick up Dave from the bus stop in White Marsh at 2:20 am. Dave's friend crapped out on us (no surprise to me, but whatever - it's hard to earn my trust back once it's been fractured and then broken), who is always a night owl and would've been much better to pick him up. Oh no, drag Laura out, who is feeling like crap and has driven 5 hours today, to go pick up her boyfriend, because she's loving and responsible. Bahhhhh.

Sooo, that saga's over, though I slept til 11 today. I slept on the recliner because Dave was kind of whining/minorly complaining about how he wants a King or California King sized bed because he wants to have the option to cuddle with me or to stretch the f-- out. Right now, we have a full. Since he had quite an exhausting journey with the concert and schlepping probably a total of 50 lbs of weight around New York, I told him to just take the bed and I'd plop on the recliner. I woke up briefly a few times to find my cat Disa sleeping on me in multiple positions, which I loved very much. She's my oldest cat (6 yrs old), and is the sweetest most loving girl ever. She's a tabby/Bengal mix, and since Bengals are supposed to have a slightly longer lifespan, I'm hoping she'll live forever.

I'm feeling slightly better today, though wary to go back to my purees, which is what stage I was at. I'm sick of the clear liquids (I'm not a fan of drinking bottles of Isopure Zero Carb at length, since it gives me bad breath and puts a weird film on my teeth), and definitely want to take advantage of these smoothie recipes and juicing and etc etc.

There's more I want to post about, but this post is getting excessively long, so I will try and resume later after people have had a chance to sit back and not listen to my rambling.

Ta for now!

First "dinner" out

Tonight was my mom's 60th birthday party, with fancy food and etc. I ended up bringing a thermos of lobster bisque that my mom had bought. It was a test for eating at a restaurant with other people... and I think I did really well. It was weird sitting through the bread and salad.... but I managed. My soup was ok, though I had issues later (went through me pretty quickly). I just will be glad to have some solid food.

Going back to work, trying new food, and a beef

Yesterday I was supposed to call the nurse I met with last week for my one week check-up, but I didn't because I am concerned/worried/anxious about what I should do. We had discussed possibly my going back to work full-time starting Monday, but she said it might be better to just go back half days next week and then full-time the week after that.

I was ready and willing to go back to work early because being at home sucked at that point (cooped up, unproductive, feeling blah and having some discord with Dave). Plus I need the money. But the home situation has improved, I have greater mobility, and am feeling more at ease with the situation... So now I don't want to go back to work, of course. This is the longest I will ever be away from work (short of being unemployed) for the rest of my life, until I can retire, if that's even possible. So it makes sense that I would kind of want to milk it....

I'm going to call the nurse today and say that I want to go back half days starting next Wednesday, and then full days the Monday after that... so, sort of a compromise.

Also, today is officially my two week mark! I'm starting on purees and trying to look up new and interesting food all the time. So far a lot of the things I've had have been misses, but that's no reason to not keep trying. They are just misses on flavor/"mouth feel", not on bothering my stomach. I made a gingerbread smoothie yesterday, with a few substitutions needed, but it turned out pretty nicely... Just insanely thick after being refrigerated. The flaxseed meal in it makes it a little "chewy". It still taste pretty phenomenal, don't get me wrong! And not beany at all (as I was very concerned about). But, still - it's a *lot* to get through. On the other hand, it helps me use my vanilla protein powder - which I keep not liking. I don't know what it is... I just am not a fan. Chocolate of any kind? Heck yeah. Vanilla? ehhh....not so much. And I can only really afford to get on this merry-go-round a few times, y'know?

I guess I should mention some of the other "fails" I've had. Mixing unflavored protein powder (specifically Isopure) with miso soup. That was FOUL. Mixing orange Powerade Zero with vanilla protein powder - ended up extreeeemely frothy and not so hot. After I transferred it to my sippy cup, it lost a lot of the bubbles thankfully. The frothiness really bothered my stomach. Which makes you think that protein powder manufacturers might want to make that a concern of theirs...but, whatever. I've also made the aforementioned amazing avocado egg salad, and pureed it within an inch of its life. That didn't sit too well - in both taste and digestion. It might be the eggs, which my digestive system was having issues with prior, but I am putting a hold on it for the meantime. I'm hoping to try some plain mashed up avocados in the near future, since I luff them.

For other challenges in the realm of food - being around people eating. It hasn't been too bad around Dave, especially when I'm making him dinner. A lot of the times I'm making him things that I wouldn't really want to partake in myself. But sometimes it just looks so damn delicious. Last night we had his friends over for some gaming and I made steak fajitas.... Good lord that flank steak looked divine. It was remedied by the peppers and onions and misc. other spicy stuff that I do not go for. (My heritage is firmly grounded in non-spicy meats and potatoes!) But I've made him a lot of other things that taste amazing (to him) and not been bothered by it. It's just once in awhile. But I'm enjoying trying all these new things, even if my wallet isn't. (Thankfully I'm already stocked up on pantry non-staples like flaxseed meal, liquid stevia, protein powders, almond flour, etc.)

Last but not least, my actual beef - not the flank steak. I went to GNC earlier this week to pick up some Isopure Zero Carb waters, since they're great for supplementing my protein intake. I kind of hate going into any of these stores (well, the only ones available to me being GNCs and Vitamin Shoppes, though the second to a lesser extent since there are just fewer locations). The reason is that they sell you HARD on anything and everything. We, Dave and I, ended up having the manager/only employee in the store talk to us for half an hour about not only supplements and all this nonsense but also about genetically-modified foods, the importance of being outdoorsy and playing sports, regular microwaves are bad, trace minerals are important and animals like dogs know this because they end up eating dirt when they're digging through it (and how his friend switched from being an internal doctor to a vet because of this), and kind of his whole personal and extended family life story. Seriously?! Seriously. I try to go into these stores when there are other people there so I can avoid this kind of pressure that I loathe. There were 2 other people when I went in, and then they finished up before me, sadly. I am also too nice to just say like "look, go away, I'm in pain and I have errands to do and you're taking up valuable time that I could be spending at home resting." Not to mention Dave and I are obviously not fitness fanatics or any of the people who drop tons of money at these places. I just hate, hate, HATE pressure sales. I know what I'm looking for, I do a lot of homework online to find what best fits my needs (dietarily and monetarily), and I don't need your talking to me about how you used to play basketball and got injured and then tried again a few years later and got injured again and now you shoot pool. Really? Really. The only interesting part of the whole conversation was the part about Connecticut passing a bill (or law?) that requires manufacturers to label their food as being genetically modified, so that people will have a clear choice. (Granted, they will most likely do what I do most of the time - pick whatever's cheapest. But I do compare when there are options for organic and etc - I don't just breeze by them. I shop at stores that have the option, not just dirt cheap stores that all of their products are suspect.) But otherwise, WTF. All GNC stores have been like this. Vitamin Shoppe has not been - they are actually respectful and will only go into lengthy discussions with you if you seek it out. I may have to start switching over to buying more stuff from them. Unfortunately, there aren't as many locations as there are GNC, and I get discounts at GNC, sooo.... Yeah. Hey, bottom line. I have to decide if I prefer to get harassed by salesmen and get lower prices or go to another store that has respectful employees.

/rant

10 Days Post-Surgery

Today is my birthday, and I am 10 days post-op. I am feeling fine, though I have been physically over-exerting myself and need to take it down a notch. I went shopping with my mom yesterday for 4 hours (I didn't want to be out that long, that's for damn sure), and then at night I went to bend over to pick up my cat and it hurt like HELL. I kinda stayed pretty still after that to try and avoid any more pain, and had some of the heavier dutier pain killers. I have been trying to stick to liquid tylenol, so that I can do stuff and not end up sleeping all the time, but end up taking the liquid percocet when I'm sorer (usually the half dose).

Food has been pretty much the same thing day to day - protein shakes, powerade, iced tea. I tried making the amazing avocado egg salad last night, only thinned down with some chicken broth and pureed within an inch of it's life, and it just wasn't so hot. Not sure if it's salvageable, or if it's just the consistency, but I was pretty optimistic.

Like I said, today's my birthday. Last night we celebrated in small fashion with a jello "cake" with vanilla pudding in the middle and a little candle on top. It didn't sit so pretty (would've been better in a parfait glass, but I wasn't the one who made it), but the candle stood up in it long enough to get through a quick singing of Happy Birthday and for me to blow it out.

Dave has been worried (which he just expressed) in my growing obsessing over food - recipes, classes, etc. I can't tell if it's because I have to obsess about food anyway kinda sorta? Or if it's really I WANT FOOOOOD.... I am definitely mourning food and having head hunger and true hunger pangs that I can't seem to get rid of with distraction or protein. So I'm seeking help out on the forums, to see if they have any p's and q's. Maybe I'm drinking too fast? I've been using my sippy cup whenever possible. Maybe I'm eating too fast? I haven't had anything come up. Soooo... I don't know. Frustrating, though.

Anyway, not feeling so great today - depressed, among other things, and just want to crawl in a hole. Or lay down on the bed and cry. Except I can't lay down on the bed, cause I'd never get back up - I'm still sleeping in the recliner since the bed is so low. Sigh.

Great infographic

I see this at my doctor's office every time I go for my vitals/weigh-in, and it was also something they talked about in the very beginning at the information session.... So many reasons to really consider bariatric surgery as a reasonable tool for significant, lasting weight loss.

One week later..

Today is my official mark for one week after surgery. How am I feeling? Pretty good. I over-exerted myself dootzing around yesterday, so I'm trying to take it easy today. (Appointment/shopping, then shopping again later... Wayyy too much stress on that belly o' mine.)

I got adventurous earlier today and ate a Müller Greek Corner Yogurt today, strawberry flavor, being very careful to go incredibly slowly. So far my adventures haven't turned out so great. Isopure (Unflavored) + Miso Soup? No, no, no! It was foul. Orange Powerade Zero with French Vanilla Lean Shake 25 protein powder? Mmm, also no, but I think it was more the protein powder's fault. The Lean Shake stuff tends to get incredibly foamy/frothy, and I realized how detrimental that was when I was just all full of the foam. When I transferred it to a sippy cup, it worked out better, but still not a big fan of the Lean Shake 25 protein powder flavors.

I made chocolate pudding! With a packet of Better Bowls I picked up from the grocery store. Low cal, sugar free (sweetened with Splenda), protein, fiber... and made with skim milk plus fiber... It's really delicious. I also got a vanilla, so I'll be trying that out soon as well! :)

My mom's coming down tomorrow, so hopefully that won't be as stressful as I'm worried it will be.

I have been thinking I will go back to work early, but after talking with the nurse yesterday, she said that I should think about it some more and call her next Wednesday to see how I'm feeling about it. She made a suggestion of maybe just going back for half-days for a week until going to full-days the week after, just to ease in a little.

Sorry this post is kind of all over the place - clearly I had no organization in mind when I set out to do this! lol

Stage 2!

So today is my first day of the stage 2 diet. I'm now on full liquids! First day of non-clears since last Monday. I have been looking forward to today so much it's kind of absurd. Pretty much, as long as I can have my protein shakes and iced tea with splenda, I'm golden.

However, I definitely need to get in a better groove, and get a firm grip that just because one miso soup went south with a scoop of unflavored protein powder doesn't mean that all soups will suck.

Tomorrow is my one-week post-op with the doctor (one day early). I have been driving a little, getting around decently, just having some pain in the large incision on the right side. For the most part, I haven't been nauseous or dizzy or any of those things. I've got a drill sergeant on me about keeping up that hydration, which is helpful. I keep trying to do things for myself, because Dave is lazy and has been reacting poorly to accommodating my OCD. (And he shouldn't really have to.) I am learning to keep my mouth shut and just go about my business and do what I can do - then stretch beyond it a little - and if all else fails, use my toes to grab and pick it up.

Post surgery incisions

I took a picture of my torso to show what exactly the spots look like. Two of them are pretty much impossible to see due to the top belly flab. Considering this is major surgery, though - not too shabby.

In addition, Dr. Liao was able to "reuse" some of my previous laparoscopic incision sites from when I had my gallbladder removed in 2007. Which is great, because it's minimizing all my "poke holes" on my belly.

Sorry for the partial bra shot - I'm sure you will live.

Edit: All the dark spots on the lower half of my stomach are from the Heparin injections. They ended up bruising pretty badly (I still have some yellowing), and two of them ended up with minor rashes. :'(