Atl_Gadget_Grrl but u can call me Charlotte

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So I have stumbled on a stylish, easy way to have in-my-face feedback on the liquids I have consumed each day. This is the hardest part for me, and I can verify that I lose better when I drink more liquids!  I call it the human abacus approach.

What you do: 

Grab a set of cheapo stacking rings. The ones here cost me 36 total from WalMart. I picked up another set in a smaller size and different style yesterday from Icing's sale rack for 1.99. Or, I have priced out something more stylish in sterling silver from Jared that will be about 75 total, but I will wait till I am closer to goal to get those to save on resizing costs.

I chose 4 rings, but 5 will work as well.

For every 16 oz you drink, move a ring from one finger to the other. In this photo, I have consumed 16 oz (the volume of my camelbak). This gives me 64 oz total. With 5, it would give me 80 oz. The goal is to have all the rings move from one hand to the other over the course of the day, when this value can be recorded for all posterity in places like MFP. I suppose you could do a ring for every 8 oz; in which case the rings would migrate from one hand to another and back. 

You could also do this with bracelets, but I don't like to wear them when I type. I am sure you could do this with anything, really. I just like the in-your-face nature and find I do better on my water on the days I wear them vs the days I don't.

I am putting them here so I don't lose them. Ironically, when I was a speech therapist, I used to work with a lot of my swallowing patients on pureed diets. Never thought I would be on one! These are various sites i have collected so far.

http://www.netwellness.org/healthtopics/diet/pureedentreesalads.cfm

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

http://ebinfo.homestead.com/recipemain.html

http://www2.mskcc.org/patient_education/_assets/downloads-english/392.pdf

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs208

It'll be nice to eat what the family is eating again, even if it's in different form.

 

I adore 4th of July cookouts, but given it is pouring down rain in ATL today AND I am on a full liquid diet, I needed to improvise! I did some hunting around the jaw surgery boards and came up with a soup that looked like it just might work. Here is what goes into it. I'm not much of a measure-and-document recipe builder, so YMMV. This recipe is inspired by my mom's pork and beans, but if you are just as happy with Bush's and don't mind the carbs, have at it.

2 hot dogs, uncooked

1 small can Van Camp's pork and beans (it was about 1 cup of beans)

Mustard

Ketchup

Small amount of brown sugar

beef boullion

water

 

Put the entire mess in the blender/Magic Bullet and blend till it's the consistency you want. I pulverized the hot dogs first, and then added the beans. I ended up putting in a bit more water when it put it in my bowl. It filled one of the Magic Bullet mixing containers; I think that is about 2 cups.

Bon appetit!

 

Update: I think I got a bit too much ketchup and mustard in there (sort of like when I actually make my beans), and I could not taste the hot dog, but overall it wasn't too bad. I could only eat about 1/4 cup before I felt full.

 

Tonight we were going to go to dinner at a place that has soup. The wait was too long for us to make our movie and so we wound up at different restaurant that i thought would be ok but had nothing for me. I ran next door and grabbed some Fage, and I also grabbed this to keep in the car for future "surprises". Some hot water and a spoon and i will be in business.    I dont eat a lot of cream of wheat but it is on my diet level at the moment, and i have accounted for the carbiness into my numbers. I suppose i could do a shake packet just as easily but i worry about it remaining stable in the heat of the car.    Anybody else have an emergency kit like this? What to you have?  

1. Drink lemonade made with an entire packet of crystal light.  It about dropped me to my knees!!! Taste buds: Changed.
2. Leave my favorite kind of soup on the counter uncovered. Damn cat likes it too. 

My 2 week checkup went really well. They say I am ahead of where they would expect me to be. I am fully anticipating a slowdown at some point.

I'm midpoint on the full liquids and enjoying this marginally better than thins. I have found a variety of interesting soups. If they are chunky, I pop them into the magic bullet blender and I'm good to go. I am really looking forward to purees, as odd as that sounds. Hummus! Refried beans! Cottage cheese! I will be a happy camper.

I've tolerated just about everything I have tried except for a chicken tortilla soup. I wish I could put into words how I know if something isn't going to work, but I just know. 

Given that the 4th is this week and I adore cookouts, I cannot get hot dogs and beans out of my mind. I have such a taste for them. I have been perusing full liquid recipes and so I might try a hot dog and bean soup for the 4th that I found. Sounds gross, right? I bet it would be delicious. The magic bullet may really come in handy here. For about the past week, I am feeling a "gee, maybe I should see what's to eat" feeling - a hollowness, sort of, not really hunger. I am on Prilosec so I don't think it is acid. Stomach is definitely not growling. After a few bites of whatever I am eating, especially if I have eaten it too fast, I feel a "that's cool, I don't feel the need to have any more of that now." I don't think it is anything like restriction. It's more a satiety. It will be interesting to see how this feeling matures/changes over the upcoming weeks.

My brain is back ON. I rarely take naps and when I do, it is from boredom. Boredom is ever present but ADD me can't buckle down long enough to get any of my to-do list done, although I am chipping away at it. Physically, it takes surprisingly little to completely exhaust me. I did some grocery shopping with the family last night. Just walking around the store - not directing the trip, not pushing the cart, and I was wiped by the time I got home. I am trying to arrange things to work from home starting next week. Have to make sure the insurance hurdles are passed.

Physically, I'm healing really well, I think. The 3 smaller incisions are pretty much healed. The one in my belly button is still pink/scabbed and feels "grabby" from time to time.  Restrictions continue until week 6: 25# lifting restriction, no exercise except for flat surface walking, no twisting, stretching, or bending, and no swimming. They say at my next check in, I will be cleared for kickboxing. Um, no thanks.

I am on my second period of no loss. Last week, for 4 days, I was stuck at 230ish, trading the same 5 oz back and forth each day. I broke through and got down to 227. Now, today, I am up 8 oz from yesterday. Not sure if this is the dreaded 3 week stall or not. Time will tell. Still trying to learn my pattern. When I'm losing, I am losing a pound per day which is mind boggling. If it gets to the point that it bugs me too much, I will stop weighing every day.

My measurements are smaller too. I measured yesterday and have lost a total of 12 inches in a month's time:

waist -2.5

neck -1.5

bicep -4.5 (WOW!! Thanks to Matt's arm workouts pre-surgery, I think!)

hip -2

thigh -1

calf -.5

 

All in all, no regrets whatsoever so far. 

Life continues to just roll on along.

As of this morning, I was just over 26 pounds down from the start of my preop diet; 11 lbs down from surgery (including gaining and relosing my 9lb hospital spike). The past couple of days have been 2-3 pound losses each day. I don't know if I see a difference yet, but I am starting to feel one. This morning, I was complaining to my daughter that my underwear felt like it kept sliding down. And yesterday, I wore a pair of shorts that were uncomfortably tight on me prior to surgery, but yesterday felt fine. I seem to be losing from my legs, butt, arms, but not belly so much yet. I expected that so I am not concerned.

Food and nutrition: this morning I had a premier protein shake with minimal stomach rumbling. I take this as a sign that my sleeve is settling down and getting me ready for full liquids. I can see the value of this slow diet progression. Daily, I've been getting in my 64+ oz of liquids, and they're going down pretty easily. The protein continues to be the challenge. It is slow going when I drink that. My tummy rumbles and sometimes I need to head for the bathroom shortly thereafter. It is better than it was when I was drinking milk, but it can still be uncomfortable. I KNOW I would not have been able to handle a premier protein last week, so I am pleased it was uneventful today.

I have needed to do minimal dragon-slaying with the head hunger/cravings. Every so often one pops up, but in general, I have been able to get it to go away by swapping in something else. For example, I took my daughter to the mall and was wound up in the food court looking for won ton soup. I was DYING for a hot pretzel, but I managed to appease the monster by getting some jasmine tea. Funny how that works. I continue not to feel hungry per se, but occasionally my stomach rumbles when it's been a while since i have eaten or drank anything.  

Remember that rash I mentioned in the last post? Well, it went viral and covered my front and back. I called the doctor and they told me I could take liquid benadryl. I took that two nights in a row and it started to clear up. I also removed 3/4 of my steristrips - one of them was REALLY inflamed all around it - and covered them with band aids that I don't react to. One of the areas opened back up a fair amount (eek). The incision in my belly button is cranky, too, feeling that it grabs or stretches or something whenever I change positions in bed. I am also feeling crankiness on the inside, left side of my abdomen, above my incisions. From what I have read about others, this is a normal step in healing. So, I will just wear the binder if I'm scheduled to be out and about. I was in enough pain from the belly button incision last night that I took pain meds and wondered, briefly, why it was that I have done all of this. I felt better this morning, though.

As for telling others, I still waver. My boss' wife brought dinner over last night (for the rest of the family), and she was strongly hinting that she did not know what the surgery was for. I told her, yes, I really didn't share that information around at work. She graciously took the hint and dropped the line of questioning. I was dumb and accidentally shared the surgery information with a text message distro that included a colleague. That's when I was still on pain meds last Friday. I texted her and asked her to respect my privacy. I may tell people eventually, but I was reading comments this am on NPR's facebook page about obesity being considered a disease, and the hatefulness of the comments I read there made me feel ok with not telling anyone outside of a close circle of friends and family.

Behavioral change: I am finding that I no longer leave the house without some form of protein and 2 bottles of water. How quickly that has become habit. Spending the night away tonight - taking my daughter and her friends to a concert and getting a hotel afterwards to limit driving and commotion at the late hour. I am sure I will be fine.

I am home and settling in. I feel stronger each time I wake up from sleeping. Sort of interesting because I didn't feel bad before I went to sleep.

Was discharged 2 days ago on Friday the 14th. I had gotten really good at managing myself. Wasn't eating much, but that was ok.

Had a scare yesterday - couldn't breathe so I took a trip to the ER. They checked me out for clots and cardiac issues and all was fine. 

Today, set out to get all of my liquids (32+ oz) in and all of my milk (32+ oz) in. I am having trouble with the milk. It is causing HORRIBLE gas/bloating/pain. I have said it sounds like a bear has moved into a volcano that happens to be located in my belly. I have emailed the nurse to see if I can switch to something different that will make me react less. This morning, I got up and everything was quiet. after my first clear liquid (non milk), it was still quiet. After my first milk, it was ON. I may try some almond milk this evening, but it doesn't have the protein load that skim has, so I am not quite sure what to do.

Also, got my walking in for the day. Not 30 consecutive minutes, but 2 trips to the store, so I will take it.

Other weird things: my incisions are itching like crazy. Not sure if it's the steri strips or what. I also have developed a fine red rash running down my right side from armpit to hip. I will keep an eye on it. It doesn't itch, really. I wonder if it's a reaction to the contrast used during yesterday's CT scan looking for clots, which was injected into my left arm.

All in all, feeling good, and my weight is below my presurgery weight, so that is a good sign. 

 

On today's agenda:  Paid for 10 visits with my trainer! He looks like Olly Murs so it makes our sessions fun. I enjoyed the three trial sessions I purchased. I feel really good to gave made that commitment. Even though I may not be able to use them for a while, I still feel like I have another member of my care team.   Then, cleaning my room. God knows it needs it, and I don't want to have to look at it after surgery and not be able to do anything about it.

I'm so pleased with my progress on the preop diet. I have kept it well below the threshold of 20 carbs each day. Protein has been 50% or greater each day, and the lowest day was still 103 grams. I am down 10 pounds already. I wonder if I can lose another 8 before surgery?

I'm not feeling hungry or sleepy (except when I stay up late). I really hope that everything continues to go this smoothly.

12 days to go...