3.5 Weeks Post-Op Update

Hi friends! It's been a busy couple of weeks since I wrote last! So many crazy things have happened, plans and diets and jobs have changed, and I'm just adapting to all of that as best as I can. I'm down 41 pounds since surgery as of this morning. That's actually about 65 pounds down from my highest weight (last fall) so it's really exciting.

I'm on a soft (at times pureed) foods diet now. It's a big step-up from liquids, and I'm finding that my body isn't as anxious to advance as my mind is!

Foods That Work:

• Tuna w/olive oil mayo, mustard & salt
• Canned Chicken w/olive oil mayo, mustard & salt
• Scrambled eggs w/reduced fat cheese
• Fat-Free Refried Beans w/reduced fat cheese
• Protein-Enriched Cereal (Special K, I have to let it get soggy first, or Tummy gets mad)
• Cream of Wheat (no protein. kind of useless but yummy)
• VERY tender beef roast
• Fudgesicles

Foods That Should Work According to Dr. But Don't:

• Hamburger
• Ground Turey
• Ground Chicken
• Anything of hamburger consistency
• Most Chicken Breast (to fibrous by itself, doesn't break down enough)
• Fruit Popsicles (seems healthy but Tummy disagreed)
• Yogurt (I used to love it! Now? Not happening)
• Cottage Cheese
• Sugar Free Pudding

An added problem is that even though there are a few protein foods I can handle, as listed above, I can only eat 3-6 small bites of them, and that's over the course of 20-30 minutes. That means that if I ate 6 times a day like I'm supposed to, I'd only get about 30 grams of protein from my food. Even worse, I've only been eating about 2 or 3 times a day. So you can understand that I have NOT been meeting my 100 gram a day protein requirement.

I'm SUPPOSED to be drinking 3 protein shakes a day to fill in this gap. I know that. They told me all about it for 6 months of classes before the surgery. I bought protein powder. I drank the shakes every day for a month to get in the habit. Problem? Pre-op I drank the powder in a smoothie which I made out of 8 ounces of orange juice, a cup of frozen fruit, and the powder.

My tummy doesn't like all that sugar anymore. I'm not supposed to drink more than 4 ounces of juice a DAY. Since I'd need about 18 ounces to go the smoothie route, that's obviously not an option. So the Dr. says I should drink the powder in a cup of plain milk but... come on. Who wants to drink 8 ounces of powdery milk 3 times a day? Especially when you have to SIP it over the course of an hour and a half to get 8 ounces down?!

So I'm takign a new route. I ordered several samples of protein powders that mix in water, called Nectar protein. It should be light and juice-like, which I'll be able to drink much more easily than this thick milk-based stuff. Hopefully that works, and I can fix this protein shortage before my hair starts falling out or my internal organs fail. Thanks Dr. for the scare tactics--they worked. :-)

So on Monday I started at my new Job. Because of some crazy things that have happened, I'm actually working for a clean energy company called ClearEdge Power over in Hillsboro. It's an amazing company. They produce one of the world's first fuel-cell systems that converts natural gas into clean energy for residences, allowing them to produce most or all of their own power. It's basically an alternative to Solar Panels for those who are looking to lower their home's carbon footprint and reduce energy costs.

Work is... work. :-) There is SO much to learn, since I've never worked in the industry before. Some of it's exciting and other times I'm kind of sitting in my cubicle thinking 'ok got it...what now?'. But that's always how a first week at a new place is, so I'm sure it will pick up.

That's all the news for now.