crysthecen

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It seems like every 2-3 months I will get this pain in my pouch for a couple of days where everything burns, hurts or otherwise feels yucky in the pouch.  It's the oddest thing because then it disappears and life is good again.  The only cool thing is it reminds me the pouch is alive, well and still in charge. 

So I've been having hideous issues with the bathroom lately and have been trying to pinpoint it.  First dairy, now my favorite protein powder.  Rather feel at a loss now that I'm poison of choice is not a current option.  Nectar Fruits are not holding their appeal, Body Fortress vanilla is also losing its charm.  It's almost like since I cannot have what I really want, nothing is holding a candle.  I just hate going back to the drawing board.

At this point, I'm back to working on my samples trying to find a good substitute.  Bought a soy chocolate then realized it had 16 grams of sugar....bad idea. 

This whole relearning the body thing bites at times. 

Before surgery, at my cousin's recommendation, I got Body Fortress Vanilla protein powder from Walmart.  Supremely inexpensive, but I was sick to shreds of it by surgery date.  Figured there had to be something better.  Many people on the boards/blogs mention they use Body Fortress and to give it a chance after surgery.

I was determined to NOT use it again and then discovered when I loaded them up to give to my cousin, who does use it, I wasn't ready to give up the vanilla until I tried, just on the off chance that it somehow had improved since my last tangle with it.

Mixed up some chai tea concentrate, milk and Body Fortress and it was perfect.  I don't get how you can absolutely hate a protein powder before surgery and like it after or how doctoring it up makes it better but it does. 

I've been having an insane hankering for hot chocolate.  It's cold and windy outside, the tree is up....all I need is a fireplace and hot chocolate.

So I made a hot chocolate out of the following:

Gold Standard 100% Whey Double Rich Chocolate  1.5 scoops
fat free dry milk (sprinkled liberally)
1 packet of Swiss Miss Diet Hot Chocolate- I looked at the No sugar added and it was way higher than the Diet version
To make it more interesting, I added SF Raspberry syrup

Man was it tasty, delicious....hit the spot, I want more.  For a while after surgery, I only wanted Nectar Fruits, heavy dessert flavors were grossing me out.  I'm guessing my affection for dessert flavors has returned, unfortunately.

Just moved to solid, "regular" foods this past Tuesday.  Tuesday night I had shrimp taco salad and left the tortilla where it lay.  For whatever reason, it made my poor pouch  miserable.  Kind of like when you're a kid at a holiday party and had WAY too much candy.  Haven't had stomachache like that in quite some time.  Totally ruined my evening. 

Still a bit tired, not sure if that is just from my regular schedule or from the surgery still.  It's been a hard core surgery year between a c-section, gallbladder removal and then gastric bypass.  I imagine after a while that takes a toll. 

The last is I just don't feel like I'm losing at a good clip.  I guess we all lose weight differently, but compared to last month my weight is just kind of hanging out.  It's still a good 7 pounds but I'm hoping to get to the surgeon's goal of 15-20 lbs a month at first.  Lost 20 the first month.....okay, yeah....I'm kind of whining.  I guess the main thing is to continue doing as I am instructed.
 

In general I've taken the advice of the OH family and ordered protein sample after protein sample.  Most ended up being nasty, some for completely indeterminable reasons (Chike is a perfect example- the protein flavor is almost invisible but I just can't handle it- if anybody wants the couple packs I have left of Chike, PM me and let me know).  I ordered the Gold Standard 100% Whey variety pack half a week ago and tried the Double Rich Chocolate flavor first.  I sipped, sipped again and realized it wasn't going to kill me.  That I *gasp* LIKED it.  Really liked it.  Add some instant decaf coffee to that and OMG, it was the best thing I've had since surgery.  To be honest, I had given up hope of finding a chocolate protein that I thought was beyond decent.

I'm absolutely having a love affair with protein powders.  Of all things after surgery, I thought it would be the hunt for new clothes that would bring amusement, not freaking protein powder samples. 

My favorite drink of the day right now is Mocha Coffee....I don't have good protein stats on it yet though:

1.5 scoops Gold Standard 100% Whey Double Rich Chocolate (36 gr. protein)
1 teaspoon decaf coffee to taste
Dry Non-Fat Milk to taste (I know this adds some protein just not sure since I haven't measured it out)
1 packet Splenda

Blend the protein powder with cold water, zap water in the microwave, add other ingredients and then pour the protein powder in.

It's funny, when you first get out of surgery, you cannot imagine the day where experimenting comes into play and I've depended very heavily on recipes from others creative minds so far. 

At one month out I'm logging a 17 pound loss.  I haven't really dipped into the closet yet for different clothes except for jeans because I'm dying to have a variety of jeans to wear rather than one or two pairs.   I'll start digging in the closet when I'm forced to. 

I did have my first puke episode last night.  Tried Popeye's chicken bowl (just the chicken and cheese to start), got through a couple bites and up it came.  Could not have been more miserable, though my poor pouch was going to explode.  So that kind of chicken is off my list for a while.  I think it was too dry. 

Other than that, recovery has been uneventful except for the tiredness that still dogs me.  It's not nearly as bad, but I don't seem to have alot of endurance for extended activity, like a day out shopping. 

I'm just really happy the days of sip, sip, sip are done since water goes down easier.   The pain of the surgery is totally gone now and I'm feeling just about normal.

I had bought a sample of Nectar Caribbean Cooler from www.vitalady.com.  Mixed it up tonight with 16 oz water, a sunrise sf powder packet, ice and was it good.  Not much of a protein flavor.  It could have been a mixed drink by the ocean. 

So that tallies my total of likes to the Nectar fruit line so far.  Still on the prowl for a good chocolate/vanilla protein powder I can tolerate.   The Unjury Chicken Soup is pretty tasty too. 

RTDs are tolerable but it seems like making them from powder is .  EAS Myoplex RTD is not shabby so I thought it would be a good idea to give EAS powdered a chance.  Threw some sf pudding in with a scoop and milk, tried it and immediately tossed it with the thought one of the posters here had that there is no excuse for drinking a bad protein drink.  So off to happy file 13 EAS powdered chocolate protein powder went. 

Luckily, I have more samples on the way and lots of recipes to try. 

Weight wise, I was down another pound and a half.  Initially I was very upset at how low my loss seemed, but when I thought on it, 15-20 in a month is fantastic!!! 

I'm not a yogurt fan, not even close.  Have picked up Greek yogurt in the past and hated it. 

I'm a fan of Pam T, Nik, MissMaryMac and all of their blogs for the wonderful ideas on how to make foods work for post-op pouches.  

Tonight  I needed a sweet fix.  Bad.  Picked up Greek yogurt, added SF, decaf Suiss Mocha Cafe.  OMG.....I felt so naughty and naughty equalled 24 wonderful grams of protein. 

The scale FINALLY moved.  I was so happy.  And then it moved some more.  No idea what made the difference or if it was just a matter of my body figuring out this surgery isn't going to go away.  Strangely enough, my shirts are not fitting differently, still tugging them down and over.  The jeans are getting looser though  and my speed of walking has increased. 

My biggest problem is simple exhaustion.  It is so hard to keep my eyes open any length of time.  I'm taking everything as I should and I'm just tired.  I really hope this is just a side effect of surgery and will go away. 

Surgery was relatively uneventful except for a sleepy bowel issue that kept me from getting liquids for the better part of two days.  That made for a very grumpy girl on this end.  I must not have been projecting my unhappiness at no liquids because the next day when I had xrays one of the techs was commenting on how "sweet" I was the day before.  I would hate to know what they come across on a daily basis because I felt like I could have tackled a bear and won when I woke up the 21st.

So far my primary intolerance is plain water.  Adding anything helps to get it down easier.  I understand this gets easier as you go so I'm just trying to ride the train until that day comes.  Chicken is interesting.  I think it just depends on how moist it is when it goes down.  Sometimes it is miserable, sometimes just peachy.  Oh and sugar free cool whip/pudding just doesn't work  .   

Still having some pain in my left side, more annoying and uncomfortable than painful though.  Not a huge weight loss, but definitely not complaining because I already feel better to be in the snugger of my two "big girl" jeans and not readjusting my clothes every two seconds. 

Handling protein has been an experience.  Some days I just want to hurl thinking about a straight up protein drink, but using the recipes and doctoring the shakes up really does help.  Especially like straight up unflavored for soups and whatever else I can find to put it in. 

Just so pleased to be home with no major snafus and learning to live with my pouch.