No more Clean Plate Club

It is time to withdraw my membership from the Clean Plate Club.  In this first week of non-pureed food I've learned one very important thing.  I have to stop eating before I'm too full.  The amount still on my plate is totally irrelevant.  This concept is so alien to what I learned as a small child.  Perhaps being raised by family who had survived The Great Depression inspired the habit of not wasting a morsel of food.  I usually retain any leftovers in my fridge until they are eaten or rediscovered much too late to be consumed. 

Early last week my family ordered take-out Chinese food.  Feeling adventurous, I ordered some shrimp egg foo yung.  I ate a portion about the size of an Oreo cookie and was quite full.  I put the rest in the fridge and had a little every day for lunch or supper.  After six days of egg foo yung there was still plenty left in the container.  I just couldn't face any more (probably would not be safe much longer anyway) and threw the rest away.  Needless to say, I have to find something smaller to order from the Chinese menu. 

Today I had some of my daughter's yummy meatloaf.  I put a piece about the size of a marshmallow on my plate with some of the low-fat gravy and about a tablespoon of mashed potatoes.  I didn't think it was too much but sure enough the pouch was full before the plate was empty.  I'm in a whole new world. 

Love you,
Marlena of Mohegan. 

STEP FIVE, foodwise that is.

I have finally reached the end of the pureed stage and am now allowed to begin chewing my food again.  Naturally I am not supposed to go directly to Outback Steak House and order the big sirloin.  I have learned that even though I am eating only a couple of tablespoons of food I need to make my meals last for 25 minutes.  This gives me time to chew thoroughly.  Also by eating slowly I give myself time to recognize when fullness sets in.  I have regretted having too much in my little pouch since this leads to a visit from my old buddy Chuck!. 

Many years ago, when I first went to Weight Watchers, I remember hearing that it takes 20 minutes to recognize when one's stomach is full.  It is not hard to go way past merely satisfying hunger to overeating before the 20 minute warning.  Ah, the story of my life. 

In addition to eating slowly, I am not supposed to drink liquids until 30 minutes after my meals.  This is supposed to keep the pouch from emptying too quickly.  Actually if I try to drink too soon I find that my feeling of fullness becomes uncomfortable and may risk losing my meal (that Chuck again)  An overfull pouch feels very different from that overstuffed, post-Thanksgiving,, unbuttoning your waistband, oops I did it again feeling.  Instead I feel like I've swallowed a fist-sized rock. 

So, as you can see, I have a lot of behavior modification to do.  Since I am eating such a small volume of food I can't afford empty calories.  I've been having quite a few sugar-free popsicles during the hot summer weather.  They are yummy but don't have any nutrients.  I need to make the small meals count.  I have been adding my protein powder to yogurt and sugar-free pudding.  I also made eggnog in my blender with Egg Beaters, milk and the protein powder.  I need to get the fat-free half and half for the next time I do it so it will be thicker.  It was pretty good except I overdid the nutmeg. 

Enjoy the fleeting summer while you can.  It will be fall before we know it. 

Best wishes,
Marlena of Mohegan. 

The World according to Eggface

I have to share this blog with anyone who would like some creative eating ideas.  This woman is the Martha Stewart of post-op bariatric surgery.  She has amazing recipes and suggestions.  I think she should publish a cookbook.  Even if you are not part of the bariatric community, her ideas for healthy, protein-enhanced eating are both innovative and delicious.  
 So check it out and enjoy! 




http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

Support group

On Wednesday I went to my first Bariatric Surgery Support Group meeting since I had my operation.  We had a presentation about drinking sufficient fluids.  Then we were encouraged to mingle and those of us who were post-op were able to share experiences with pre-op patients.  It was good to hear from some of the post-ops who were several years out and had tremendous success.  I also got some hints about sneaking extra protein in my diet.

I don't know why I had only thought of drinking the protein supplements.  Sprinkle a scoop or two of protein powder in with some instant sugar-free pudding.  DOH!  How easy is that?  Last night I added a scoop with fresh ricotta cheese and a little sugar free apricot jam.  I felt like I was eating cheesecake!!

We were given some samples of True Lemon and encouraged to put it in a bottle of water.  It was pretty good.  I'm a little concerned because the second ingredient is "evaporated cane juice"  which sounds to me like SUGAR.  However, I tried it and didn't have any unpleasant side effects (like dumping syndrome which can happen after eating sugar).  It was also suggested sprinkling it on chicken or fish.  Not a bad idea.

The meeting was held at the Dept. of Surgery waiting area.  I went in to the OFFICIAL scale and the new total is 45 lbs lost!  YAY!!!

Best wishes to everyone.  If you are considering the surgery I would like to say that I am thrilled that I did this.  I was really ready and committed.  If you need a little more time to decide that's ok.  You want to be sure.

Love,
Marlena of Mohegan.

Of course it would turn out this way.

On my last post I was thrilled to have liquid vitamin and calcium supplements rather than the chewable sludge-producing tablets.  I figured that the liquid vitamins tasted like those children's vitamins I remembered.  Polyvisol mmmmm.  No such luck..  Both supplements are pretty nasty tasting.  At least they percolate through my stomach without a visit from Chuck. 

In a week I'll be officially finished with the pureed stage.  Yay!!  I'm looking forward to chewing again.  After the experience with the vitamins I know I'll have to start with pretty soft food and chew really well.  I'm sure I won't be ready for steak. 

People who did not know about my surgery are noticing that I'm thinner.  This part of weight loss is like a drug..  When people notice and say "Wow!  You look fantastic!"  It's hard not to get on an ego trip.  I've got a long way to go so I can't get complacent.  What I can do though is go through my closet and throw away things I can no longer wear.  YEAH!

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan.

Chuck, get lost!

I decided yesterday that I would start taking my supplements again.  I had survived a week without Chuck rearing his ugly head.  I chewed up one of the calcium supplements before eating my lunch.  Either I didn't chew it enough or else the pieces form sediment in my stomach.  My lunch soon left me.  Later that night I took two more of the calcium supplements and the multivitamin.  I didn't eat afterwards but I did drink water.  I didn't have any problems this time.  I guess I will have to make sure they are flushed through before I eat anything else. 

HOWEVER, today at my pharmacy I picked up some liquid vitamins and liquid Calcium with Vitamin D!  Yeah!  Now all I have to worry about is the larger of my blood pressure pills and the ursodiol.  I just use my pill splitter on them. 

In only ten days I will be moving on from the puree stage to soft foods.  I will still have to limit carbs and keep my protein intake high.  It will be nice though to have the same dinner as my family again.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan.

40 POUNDS LIGHTER!

I was in the neighborhood of my surgeon's office today and I stopped it to weigh in on the "official scale".  I was delighted to see that I am 40.3 pounds lighter than I was on June 28th, a mere six weeks ago. 

We had a visit this past weekend from a family member whom I hadn't seen in four years.  She said she saw in my face that I had changed.  Not only my weight but a "spark" which had been missing for a long time.  I agree, my overall outlook on life is so much brighter than before (especially now that the vomiting problem has been resolved). 

I had my third and final injection of Supartz in my knee today.  It has been less sore when I'm walking or doing leg exercises at the gym.  It should continue to improve over the next month. 

I am wearing Sketchers "Shape-up"  shoes for walking.  Reportedly they improve the alignment of my spine and are less stressful to knees.  I love them.  I feel very energetic when walking in them.  There was a little adjustment period because the motion of the foot is a little different than in regular sneakers.  Now it feels very natural. 

Have a great week,
love,
Marlena of Mohegan

Feeling good.

Today I had an egg!!!  It was wonderful!  I've always been one of those "If it ain't eggs it ain't breakfast"  kind of person.  I was supposed to wait two weeks after starting pureed food to have eggs in any form.  I have been obeying the rules since day one.  The two weeks would have ended three days from now but I went to hell today.  I cooked an egg in some Smart Balance margarine.  I chopped up the white part really small and left the yolk intact.  I served it to myself in one of my egg cups.  It tasted heavenly.  I savored each mouthful and truly enjoyed myself. 

If you have never seen or heard of an egg cup you can check out my page where I have posted some pictures from my collection. 

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan. 

Let's see if this works.

Yesterday, Thursday, I had my upper endoscopy.  Dr. B. said the outlet from my new stomach was too narrow for the scope to fit through.  The diameter was 10 millimeters.  With a balloon, he dilated it to 16 mm.  Hopefully this will allow the pills to progress further than before.  He said I might need another dilation at some point.  I am very happy to find out that I had an obstruction rather than a psychological problem.  Hopefully this will put an end to my problems with chuck (you know who he is by now). 

I also have a resolve to SLOW DOWN when I eat.  I've been a rapid eater for a long time partly because I'm lucky if I even get lunch at work let alone linger over it.  I am not a morning person either.  On my way out of the house in the morning my routine was to throw the handful of pills down my throat as I'm rushing out the door.  I'd grab an Egg McMuffin and a Diet Coke at you-know-where and eat in the car.  All of this is not going to work anymore.

I saw a quote from Jean Nidetch, the founder of Weight Watchers, Inc. "Overweight people never let go of their fork. They hold it when they are talking. They hold it when they are chewing. I discovered that is one of the secrets. Let go of the instrument that made you fat"  Its true, we do not place the fork down on the plate and carefully chew and savor each mouthful.  If I have paraphrased this idea in a previous blog entry, please forgive me.  It certainly bears repeating. 

I am about to take some of my pills for the first time in a week.  Wish me luck.  I have to say though that my blood pressure was pretty darn good even if I haven't had my medication.  I'm gonna ask my doctor if maybe I can eliminate one of my blood pressure pills. 

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan. 

Getting to the bottom of the problem.

On Thursday I am having my upper endoscopy to find out what the heck is going on down there.  I had a couple of more episodes with chuck (you know UP-chuck).  I've tried grinding up my pills with a marble mortar and pestle yet!  Unfortunately the taste of some of my pills is so incredibly bad that even if mixed with applesauce it is hard not to gag.  I'm someone who never had trouble with pills before this. 

Yesterday I made a recipe that was similar to one from the blog "The world according to egg-face"  I mixed one cup of fat free ricotta cheese, one beaten egg and 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.   I baked it in a pyrex custard cup for about 25 minutes.  It was the most adorable thing.  It looked like a muffin but in reality was a mini cheese souffle.  It was delicious.  Unfortunately, egg-face's recipe also used some tomato sauce and probably came out more like a crustless calzone.  The texture of mine was a little too much for me and it got stuck.  OH, well. 

I got my second Supartz injection in my knee on Monday.  One more next week and that's all. 

Today I actually got the love of my life, my husband of twenty-six years, to the doctor for a physical.  Since I'm planning on living a lot longer I thought it would be a good idea to get him tuned up so he'll be around too. 

Best wishes,
Marlena of Mohegan.