One of the problems I've found with WLS is that when they remove the gland in your belly that produces the 'hunger hormone', you genuinely forget to eat. And this can be a problem.
Since I'm now three weeks out from my surgery, I got the go-ahead from my clinic to move into the 'pureed/soft foods' stage of my diet. This means anything you can get to the consistency of baby food, so I've been experimenting. I found that the most satisfying thing so far has been fat-free refried beans with a spoonful of guacamole mixed in; full of protein and delicious, which is the main thing. I can only take a few bites but those few bites are freaking heaven on earth. I'm also doing a lot of cottage cheese, chicken salad, and soup. I had oatmeal this morning made with this awesome product they sell at HEB called Mootopia, which is lactose-free milk with 12g of protein per cup.
But I literally forget to eat, and twice now it's bitten me in the ass. Once it was because I had cottage cheese for breakfast and then went shopping with a friend, and I didn't even notice that it was about five hours after my meal until we were standing in Forever 21 and my vision started to swim. My chest felt fairly tight even though I was standing very still, and I said "Oh, dude, I think I need to go sit down and eat something." We went to Wendy's, the only option viable to me at the time, and I ordered a cup of chili; I was only able to eat about six spoonfuls, but I tried to get the meatiest/beaniest parts to give myself a little protein boost. The chili made me feel minimally better but I still wasn't 'cured' by any means; when we went to see a movie after, I caved and ordered a Hi-C fruit punch to drink. I could only finish half of a small drink despite sipping it constantly through the movie, but I felt much better with the sugar-spike from the punch. That night I went home and had a few bites of chicken salad, and coupled with some bottled water and Powerade that settled my stomach nicely.
The next time it happened was yesterday. I woke up at eight to finish doing laundry, and I ate a small cup of cottage cheese and sipped some water. My models showed up and my friends who were assisting on the shoot, and we got so swept up in makeup and hair and wardrobe and lighting that I didn't think to get more food in me. We shot for awhile at my house, then headed off to the location. I had a bottle of water in tow but no food, and after almost an hour in the warm sunshine, I started to feel woozy again. I realized it was after 4 PM and I hadn't eaten since the cottage cheese. So when we got home I drank a few swallows of a protein shake and a few bites of chicken salad, and that helped until the shoot was done.
I'm having trouble keeping my vitamins down, they upset my stomach and since there isn't enough food in there to counterbalance them it's rough. I'm going to try pacing them throughout the day instead of taking them in groups. I also need to monitor my water more strictly and force myself to drink more. It's hard when all you can do is 'sip sip sip', no big gulps allowed. You get so thirsty and you want to chug the bottle but that's a big no-no.
I'll get the hang of it, it's just taking awhile. Doing my best to keep my head on straight and do right so that this lifelong journey will be a little easier on me for the next few weeks. In two more weeks I can start integrating 'real' food, not just mushy stuff, and that will be pretty danged awesome. I just have to be patient.
Current weight: 309.5. Down almost 40 pounds.
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