6 Weeks Out

Six weeks out and had my appointment with the Nut today.  I was apparently Vitamin D deficient before surgery so now I have to take Vit D prior to my next labs at 3 months.  So as of today  I have been "released to the wild" so to speak.  At each other phase change I was excited, but this time I am a little leary of progressing.  Oh well, I will get over that. It is mostly tied to the fact that since I am back at work and don't want to try anything new when I am there.

Congratulations!  I certainly understand your apprehension, though - it's kinda scary when you get to the point where you can eat "real food" again.  Lots of emotional things running around that, in addition to all the practical concerns. 

In case it helps, i've found that planning my workplace meals and packing them the night before into my little pre-portioned gladware containers really helps.  I stay on plan (eat only what I take and pack only what makes sense) and don't spend time and energy in the morning trying to figure things out.  Additionally, I'm doing it just after I've eaten dinner, so "munchies" aren't a factor in my food choices.  

If you need to take D vitamins, try to find a sublingual D - we have trouble absorbing many of the other forms.  I know wegmans carries Twinlabs' D3+K sublingual tabs, in case that helps.  

Hang in there, keep journaling, and keep posting.  It will become second nature over time!

Great work so far!

karen

Yea....definately don't try anything new at work (or any other public place I might add)  For me...I found my diet didn't really change to much from "softs" to regulars....I was eating most of my staples on that phase anyway with the exception of raw veggies and fruit and such.  But protein wise....I still eat a lot of ground meats and dairy to this day (basically cause it's easy and I know I won't get sick on it....yes...even two years out....because I am stubborn and occassionally eat to fast I need to make sure especially at work.....)

Anyway - congrats!  Glad they caught the vitamin D deficiency and you are on supplements now!

Someone once said to me that if I was trying a new food, I was very likely to KNOW almost right away if it wasn't going to agree with me.

And that's been pretty much true. Trust your tastes and trust your body, and be careful to try only one new food at a time so you don't overwhelm your system. As you've read before, you may be surprised at what appeals to you and how your tastes have changed.

As for the sugary, starchy foods - I have made a personal commitment to avoid these totally. Both are real trigger foods for me and I don't need that, and the refined carbs don't hold enough nutritional value to be helpful to my body. I have also found that if I keep "protein first" in mind, there isn't much room to play around with foods that offer nothing but empty calories.

I'm surprised that they didn't mention you were Vitamin D deficient at your pre-op appt. with Brader or at the very least your 2 week follow up!  Brader told me at my pre-op appointment that I was in the normal (but low) range for a non-WLS patient on my B12 levels, but for a WLS patient, I would be low.  I told him the B12 was already ordered.  I ordered the smallest quantity possible from both Bariatric Advantage and Celebrate that I could so I can try them all.

I went through BariatricEating.com to order all my vitamins and supplements this first time around because their prices were the same and they were offering free shipping.  Well I placed my order on 12/29 thinking that it would easily be here by the time I got home from the hospital... and guess what?  It's the 12th and still no order has arrived.  I just sent them a nasty little email - we'll see what the response is!  I mean seriously, I ordered 4 months worth of things (easily over $200 bucks) - I can't believe it's not here!

I can't wait to live vicariously through you as you try new foods now that you've been "unleashed".  Keep up the good work - you're doing great!
Mel

Pam, I too have the fast eating issue.  I really have to word hard at that.

Melissa-- if you decide you like the Hot Chocolate Celebrate Multivitamin, let me know-- I have almost a full bottle that I just was not able to tolerate post surgery and I can bring it to the next support group.