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Looking for a mentor/support before surgery.

All right good story. I am going to university of Iowa hospital for my bariatric adventure. So the dietician gives me a bubble sheet to log my food with , a print out with a list of acceptable foods, a colored bubble sheet describing the highlights carb, protein fats and vegetables (fresh 1 cup, frozen or cooked 1/2 cup). 1500 diabetic control. A booklet from American diabetics association for healthy weight management. So I take the cover sheet and the bubble sheet to the local office store(mine is Staples). I ask to have it made into a notebook. Each side of paper has a log sheet on it. So now I have a daily log to keep track of what I am eating. Previously like 5 or 6 years ago when I logged food I just logged everything I ate. Now I have to log as carb, protein, vegetable or fat. That was tricky to acclimate to and I still am not wholly adapted. Soups and casseroles still haven’t made it on the menu. My A1C is 5.5, I am not complaining.

So my meals are very basic. No drink thirty min before or after eating. for my first meal of the day I have toast( Sara Lee delightful wheat bread 2 slices) 2 eggs and with 2 PCs Hormel fully cooked bacon or 1 turkey sausage Patty. Morning Snack is a milk product. Glass of milk, or cheese or Greek yogurt. After a week or two I learned that I am milk intolerant. (it is no fun being doubled over in pain from milk) The idea of lactose free milk was unthinkable. But I put on my big girl panties and tried fair life chocolate but I put it in my ninja blender cup and make it into a protein shake with chocolate whey protein (Carnation breakfast essentials) added ice and now I have a protein shake. In my mind it is a treat. (I did ”Body by Vi” as a diet program previously. Great place for protein shake recipes online btw.) lunch is 2 slices bread peanut butter and jelly with fresh carrots or celery sticks and 1 cup of fruit(lately has been grapes). Afternoon snack another protein shake but different 1 cup almond milk frozen strawberries ( any frozen fruit works)vanilla soy protein, again blended into that ninja cup. For dinner I cook up a pork chop (or other meat) some mixed veggies and fruit. Last snack of the day Greek yogurt that comes whipped like mousse. I find that I am never hungry and have to make myself eat on schedule.

the real part of the story is I have two friends that are diabetic so I had extra log books made. Then I have three friends that want to lose weight. So now I had more log books made up and I am giving them away for Christmas presents. I had to order the booklets for weight management from American diabetic.org and the shipping for those is almost as much as the price of the book. But I have Christmas in the bag for 5 people.
 
I have news. Had appt in 12/4. I lost another pound. They have scheduled endoscopy for me on 1/28 with COVID test, and the upper GI on 1/29. They say they are looking for scar tissue or a hernia that could affect how they do surgery. So yesterday I had appt with orthopedics, on my way there I got a call from head of bariatric to schedule my surgery on 2/15. I HAVE A DATE. Prepping appts on 2/4. She talked about blended diet. Need more information about a blended diet. Will look it up In articles on this site. Forgot to mention I am 2 pounds down from last week.
 
I am almost 3 months out from RNY
When I was in blended food stage I put Campbell's soup - any flavor I liked sirlion burger and ham and bean oh and lentil - in my Nutri bullet and blended it - it can be blended till watery in the begining and then blended to a little chunky in the end of blended stage - taste delicious after all the broth I had at first - I am not a fan of broth or the plain cream soups
I would also mix my protein shake with ice - or with peanut butter powder for flavor and extra protein
As I progressed I would add a fresh banana to the shake - it's all about mixing up what you eat so you don't get bored
As I said I am three months out from surgery and do not regret this at all - the surgery seems like so long ago even though it really hasn't been
And now that I am on the other side I can say that EVERYTHING pre surgery was much harder for me than the after surgery stuff
It all seemed so overwhelming figuring out what and how much to eat and the restriction - now just a few weeks into it it is starting to feel like second nature. Trust me you can do this and you will be so proud of yourself and your accomplishment !!!
 
Thank you desi that helps a lot the way you describe the blended diet. Cream soups I am not so sure about but maybe cheese and broccoli, I could live on the shakes alone. Even making them with extra milk powder. I also saw the s/f jello pudding and popsicles. That sounds interesting.
 
Roni said:
Thank you desi that helps a lot the way you describe the blended diet. Cream soups I am not so sure about but maybe cheese and broccoli, I could live on the shakes alone. Even making them with extra milk powder. I also saw the s/f jello pudding and popsicles. That sounds interesting.
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I add a tablespoon of chocolate protein powder to my s/f vanilla pudding cups. Just adds protein where there would be none, but oddly enough doesn’t make it taste like chocolate lol
 
So I am reviewing the folder I got from digestive health unit. It has a list for 1200 hundred calorie and 800 calorie items for the blended diet. To do before the surgery. So confusing. Wondering if I should try any of the recommendations before I start diet before surgery. Or is that too ambitious. Still 6 weeks to go before blended diet should start. I feel like I am on hold for now.
 
100% what Lisa said. I did not enjoy the 2 week pre-op diet, although I felt very empowered, mentally though not physically. Mostly I was weak and tired. But, my pre-op diet was around 600-650 calories per day so it was pretty restrictive. Now is a great time for you to get used to sipping, thoroughly chewing, and timing you meals/water intake 30 minutes apart. That takes much more practice than you think.
 
8 days until the esophagus procedure And the annual Bobbie mush. 11 days till the upper gi. Cystoscope on feb 12 and gastric bypass procedure feb 15 day after Valentine’s Day. My time is getting closer. I am three pounds down since dec 10.
Been going to my favorite fast food place. a Chicago chain that started in 1964. I was just starting school then. The place is called Portillo’s. It started as a shed on a trailer (called The dog house) with water hose going to grocery store and a power cord going there also. At first the menu was primarily chicago style hot dogs and tamales. The fries were wrapped with the hot dog. They used to put fliers on car windshields offering 5 dogs for a dollar. They eventually added Italian beef. Portillo’s makes the best in my opinion. Recently a new store opened in Springfield, IL. I think I have been there 5 times since and including the second day of staff training dec 3. they officially opened to the public on dec 8. I get the hot dog combo with two hot dogs small fry and lemonade. Plus a beef on the side. I eat one hot dog that day with about 10 fries and give the rest to my son. Then on the way home for the next two hours I drink the lemonade. The other hot dog the next day i eat for lunch. I cut the beef into smaller portion and eat the next two/or three days. Husband is calling it my Portillo diet since I am still losing weight. I am impressed that i can control my obsession with this food and keep it portion controlled.
In the meantime I ordered and received basic form containers with a recipe book. So I will be able to portion my food for the blended phase of the diet starting feb 5. Still don’t know if I can substitute any foods in the blended diet phase ( like pork for chicken, or taco meat for refried beans) but should find out feb 4 when I meet with the dietitian. Going to be long day 4 appts. But I am good. Still logging on bubble/food sheet.
I have bought my shoes from Kmart for the last 25 years, I have tried to order them online but to no avail. ‘ on back order’. I finally found a comparable shoe at Amazon, just that it is twice as much as I used to pay. This guilt shall too pass. But I have a shoe that isn’t flopping off my foot from age. ( leather stretches sometimes as it gets old).
You know I never mentioned husband had to add a hole to one of my leather belts about a month ago. That is the same time I discovered two,pairs of jeans one yellow the other standard blue that I had never been able to wear before finally fit. Hopes I made someone smile with my update.
 
2 more pounds down from Jan 11 That makes 20 pounds since July. 2.5 hour drive to hospital for esophageal test. Made it through the esophageal test On the 28. Drank a lot of white goop and swallowed stuff compared to pop rocks from back in the 70‘S. Made me think of carbonation from soda. there was suspicion I might have a small hernia. 2.5 hour drive home. Then Friday shopping with friend. Laundry on sat. Very long weekend. 2.5 hour drive to get COVID test at 11:25 am on Sunday, not driving home and back for procedure next day. Next we couldn’t check in to hotel until 3 pm. Waiting oh goody. 11:25 am was last time slot for the test that day. Very long evening in hotel. Check out from hotel is 11 am. Procedure scheduled for 2:30 pm. More waiting, oh goody. Check in for procedure was scheduled for 1:50 am, surgeon was running approximatly 30 min late. a patient had complications, so that made him behind on schedule. Then came the upper gi procedure on the 1st. Went quickly and the report is “everything is good“. No small hernia found. Let’s not forget the 2.5 hour drive home. Today was video chat for screening by counselor for counseling after surgery but that will be addressed more next week, after I meet with the bariatric team on Thursday. Wednesday is eye doctor appointment, missed last year checkup due to COVID and I kinda forgot about it. Ooops. Four appointments starting at 9 am after 2.5 hour drive. Since I don’t normally get up until 10 or 11 am I will be lots of fun since I have to get up at 5:30 am to get in car by 6:30 am for the 2.5 hour drive to appointment. First appointment is 9 am last is 2 pm and don’t forget the drive home 2.5 hours. Promises I will be good at the appointments. Friday starts the blended diet phase. Not sure how that tracts on the log they gave me. Friday is shopping day oh goody. No clue what grocery list will be With change to blended diet. husband and my weekly shopping friend have both said, you are losing weight do you really need this surgery?......my highest weight in 2018 was 327 at 60 years old. It took over two years to lose 30 pounds and 6 months to lose 20 Pounds. I am currently at 273. I am going to be 63 this year so I would be 70 or older to lose between 130 to 140 pounds to lose and that is if I don’t encounter any plateaus along the way. I am serious about losing, but do I change my mind after starting this?
 
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I had the same conversations with my family about losing weight anyway so why the need for surgery. I will tell you the surgery and the 6 weeks of super restrictive dieting gives you results FAST. Which is super motivating. But even if you're not motivated, your stomach is at the biggest (sleeve) 2-3 oz and at the smallest (bypass) 1oz. So, even you decided to "cheat" well .. good luck trying to eat a bucket of fried chicken lol
I personally found the surgery to be a reset for me. I was given this gift of speedy weight loss, which in turn makes me WANT to make better food choices. It just gave me a real chance to just get over food, if that makes sense. When dieting to lose weight naturally, all I wanted was food, and I was angry that I couldn't have it. Now it's not always easy, but it's easier. And I needed help. The surgery gave it me and I am so happy that I decided to go for it.
 
Busy day labs, dietician, head of program talked about risks an complications, physician assist talked about releases and after surgery, surgeon talked about procedure then sent me to ekg, chest X-ray and now waiting for anesthesiaologist. Tomorrow blended diet starts, got swaps for stuff I am not fond of, should be okay. Tell more later oops tentative 6:30 am on the 15.
 
Roni said:
Busy day labs, dietician, head of program talked about risks an complications, physician assist talked about releases and after surgery, surgeon talked about procedure then sent me to ekg, chest X-ray and now waiting for anesthesiaologist. Tomorrow blended diet starts, got swaps for stuff I am not fond of, should be okay. Tell more later oops tentative 6:30 am on the 15.
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Wow, you are almost there Roni! Good for you!
 
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