Its a question of size

Today I found myself having lunch with Marla. As usual we were in a hurry and I couldn't find really anywhere good to eat so we ended up at a shopping mall Japanese Restaurant - Edo Japan. Edo was one of my fav presurgery restaurants. It was fairly easy to knock off a large plate of teriyaki chicken, side of sushi, and a large coke. I was fairly confident that I could fool myself into eating healthy.
So here I am six weeks after my surgery, down 25 pounds, and feeling pretty good. So now it is a question of choices. I am now looking at this small plate that Marla and I are sharing thing "Wow, this isn't very much." Really it was more than enough. I was able to have some of the chicken - it was better with just a little sauce on it as opposed to smothered in sugary good the way I liked it before - and I enjoyed a few mushrooms. Rice, bad idea. But this time I could anticipate full and stopped before I got into trouble.

So what's the difference in six weeks? Here is a pair of pics a month a part. Not much difference for now but I can sure feel better.


Not a lot of difference yet, but at six weeks I am at the start of my journey not the end.

For me it is now learning that the amount I eat is smaller and its noticeable. I am getting smaller - barely noticeable. I keep reminding myself that I am at a point my choices are important. When I started eating smaller I used to get my servings on a salad plate instead of a dinner plate, now I have down graded that to a saucer. I know I am just a newbie at this, and who knows what changes will happen, but for now I am happy and grateful that things are going the way they are.

My First Buffet road trip

So here I am six weeks out of my RNY surgery and feeling very good. I am down about 25 pounds and under my doctor's instructions eating almost normally. I know a lot of you are going to say "I couldn't have normal foods for five or six months at least." He told me to go out and try things. Get of the soft liquid stuff and make the stomach work for you. I think it may have been a dare because there are definitely things I cannot and should not eat. Lettuce. But surprisingly he said "Try whole wheat bread now and then and not too much - the carbs will do you good." I haven't really been that brave yet.
This week is Marla's birthday so we are off on our bi-annual casino holiday. We start in Bellingham at the Skatgit and move down to Seattle and the Tulalip, then up again to the River Rock in Richmond. It is a nice get away and because a lot of it is comped it was a bit of a foodie frenzy in the pre-surgery days. I would waddle into these great American Buffets - filled with fried fatty things like deep fried chicken, gravy, and thick salad dressing - fill my plate four or five times and congratulate myself for stopping before it got ridiculous.
So now as I perused the buffet it became a question of "Oh My God, what is there here that I can eat?" First of all - nothing fried. Then no carbs. I fell back on my training over the last three years and ditched the plates that were the size of home plate in a major league baseball game and took the smallest salad plate I could find. I refined this decision and ended up using a saucer.
Secondly - another of my rules of buffets - I have to see the plate between the food. No overlapping and no piling on. So I went first for the fish - nice moist salmon. Then I had the carver give me a small small thin slice of just rare beef. My final selection for this round was chicken. Your likely saying - gee that's a lot. My serving sizes were about the size of a teaspoon or just a taste. Still I was eating the protein first.
Marla couldn't resist one of her and my old favourites. - mashed potatoes and corn. She was feeling guilty that she was eating something that I couldn't have. I reassured her that I really didn't want it and couldn't think I would handle it very well anyways. So it was all right.
Finally - I can't just have protein. We normally eat European style where the salad is the third or last course, but I am not so good with lettuce. What I did find was cottage cheese, peaches (which mix great with the cheese) shredded cheddar (a little fatty but okay), I went for danger and tried a tomato. There was actually some things on the salad bar that was okay.
I guess the biggest thing I had to decide was that it is okay to leave stuff on your plate. For desert I found the surgar free section. I had a slice of sugar free blueberry pie and only had the tiny point of the slice.
The first time we tried this I either chewed so much that I swallowed a lot of air and burped constantly for the next two hours. The next day, I ate smaller and chewed less, and no burps. I should also say that these were by far the largest meals of the day. They are pretty average in size to what I am eating, by my very rough calorie count, really rough, it is about 400 calories per meal. So I am still shooting for eating about 800 calories a day. And all my other meals are still soft food. I have grown to really like yoghurt.
Now I really reminiscing about food but I would much rather talk about exercise. So aside from all the shopping that Marla is making us do; I am also getting a whole lot of exercise done in the fitness facilities of the hotels we are staying. I get 45 minutes of swimming and water exercise each day, and another 45 minutes of cardio and strength exercises. I am feeling really good. Now if I could only win something in the casino.

Blake's Symphony of Burps

Burp!
I am almost five weeks out of RNY surgery.
Burp!
And I feel pretty good.
Burp!
But now it seems that every time I eat.
Burp!
I am giving up a symphony of Burps.

Big Burps, Small Burps, Two in a row.
Burps like hiccups. Burps like farts.
On and on they go.

They sounds quite disgusting.
They are wearing me out.
My family I am tiring.
I'm quite ready to shout.

It's not just what I am eating,
Protein, water or fat,
Sugar, fiber, not carb'ing
Burps are apparently where its at.

Apparently it is something
That may end eventually .
But each mealtime will bring,
One more loud symphony
Of me out there burping.

Big Burps, Small Burps, Two in a row.
Burps like hiccups. Burps like farts.
On and on they go.

Celebrations in one way or the other

The last couple of days have been interesting to say the least. I got a clean bill of health from my endocrinologist who tells me that I am doing fine, reducing my metformin by two thirds and only taking 10% of the insulin that I did before surgery is doing me some good. We reviewed my diet and blood surgars - from my eating habits he said I have a "cast-iron stomach" and approved me to keep on with my same plan.
Sometimes encouragement is not really a good thing. I felt good enough that I wanted a burger from White Spot. For anyone not from BC and not familiar with White Spot - it is a wonderful burger restaurant that has classed up over the years but still serves some of the best hamburgers. They are great at splitting our burgers so we only share one order. I had this urge to celebrate my doctor's blessing with some cooked beef. Aside from a tiny chunk of stewed meat I have avoided the bovine delights for the past six weeks.
Now I am totally on my good bariatric behaviour. I am not eating the buns! Frankly lettuce scares the hell out of me so I am not going for the lettuce or even the tomato. And the coleslaw is simply stiff lettuce, so I am staying away from that. But then there were the fries. No, avoid the fries and try the beef.
I cut it into small, small chunks. Oh, my G-d this is good. I take my time. Eat slow. Eat small and all is well. I finish but our waitress has disappeared. Oh yes, she said she was taking her break. Well whoever is looking after her table is obviously on a break too. The fries are calling to me. I move the plate away so they are not under my nose - tempting me with that crisp crust holding a soft sensuous potato. What the hell, I have "cast-iron stomach" so I idly tried one fry - no big deal. Then another - and I realized this is pushing it so I stopped. I put my plate on another table so it wouldn't tempt me and I wouldn't be sniffing it.
Marla and I were then going to go out for a walk along a real pretty trail in Saanich, the dog was anxious to go but by the time I got from the door of the restaurant to the tailgate of the truck I felt like my heart was going to explode.
I am getting familiar with this feeling. It is telling me - "hey I am full and you put something in me that isn't what I want." After three hours of a squeeze in the chest, a symphony of burping, and just plain uncomfortableness - I barfed. It is amazing how something so disgusting can make you feel so good. But I felt a whole bunch better.
The next day it was time to visit my GP - She had to give me the once over post surgery style. It has been four weeks today since my surgery and in review I am feeling great. I am happy. I feel a little smaller. So she checked my blood pressure and it was excellent. She got me up on the dreaded scale and I am down to 279 pounds. I haven't been under 280 in many many years. So all in all I am feeling great.
Marla got me an interesting present - when we were out at costco she found a Canucks hockey hoodie - I am a freak for hoodies. So she insisted on getting me a large size sweater. But wait - I have been wearing XXL and XXXL for years. So she had me put it on - and it fit. It was a tight fit but by the time we go see a game in January it should be fine. I like that she has faith in me even though she gave me a really bad time for trying out the fries.

Learning Challenged

Tonight I am in Pain. My chest hurts - a bunch. And frankly I wanted this - really. When I first considered getting a gastric bypass I knew that there would be times that my body would react to some foods. I was hoping that it would be some reaction to sugar or chocolate, maybe booze or flour. But nothing happened. I tested my new tummy and tried different things, everything went down fine. I was beginning to worry the Dr. Amson just faked me out and put in seven holes in my stomach to heal up and just look like he did the surgery.

But I am beginning to catch on. My tummy is operating as it should do; and along the way it is teaching me some valuable information. I am not reacting to specific foods but the amount of foods that I take in. I remember one time when Pat from the Tuesday group brought in some really small plates, side plate size, and said this is about the size a meal should be. I laughed at this tiny thing but promised and tried it. The smaller plates helped a lot; especially at work where they serve us buffets.

I am so surprised at how little food I really do need to sustain myself. Prior to surgery I was on about 2,500 calories a day, now I am in the 400 to 500 range. My old side plate has been reduced to a saucer and that is just a place to hold food. I can only eat about two or three ounces of anything. Dr. Amson said he made my stomach about the size of my index finger so I use that as a guide and say "this is all I will eat for now."

Now if I could only remember at commitment. Tonight I picked up a roasted chicken at Costco and decided I would try a little leg. It was really good even if I did cut it up into little bits and fed the skin to the dog. But I was still a tad hungry so I tried the second leg. Precious the pup got a big chunk of chicken but I got the rest. And it was way too much. So I am back to having this pain in my chest. I know it will go away - in a couple of hours - but in the meantime it is just a world of self inflicted discomfort. But it is all a learning curve and sometimes I think I am a slow learner.

Oops! I meant that. A klutzy day

Today I was a klutz. I was happily walking along the beach looking out over the waves and the logs when I saw a good opportunity to take a great picture. I walked into the end of the logs which was a fairly substantial size log and took my picture looking backwards to the shore. And then I started walking back across the long log. That's when my foot gave way and I tumbled in a somersault motioned onto my back on the beach. I don't know if I was too shocked to move or just felt like I looked too silly but I lay there for a few minutes. Finally I got up, brush myself off, then proceeded with my walk just slightly embarrassed.

Worse for wear, I injured my leg, damaged my finger, and wanted my pride. I know that Marla will be very ticked me for doing something silly.
However he did have a lovely watch for the rest of my time out on the beach. When I came to the crest of the hill that looked down at the ocean I saw five otter playing in the tide.

Marla and I went out for lunch at J & J Wonton downtown. It was my first time to try out Chinese Food. It is amazing how helpful they were because I explain my surgery to the waitress and she told the cook and they made me that bariatric Chinese dinner. It was verygood but I was amazed at how little of it I could eat. Marla was very hungry and she cleaned up everything else.

I had a really good appointment with Dr. Amson this afternoon. As usual he was late but that was okay. We got to talk to Susan and had a nice visit. Then the visit with Dr. Amson was quite positive. He wants me to exercise more, and lifted most of my exercise restrictions. He is very encouraging and I like that. I met two of his patients, Larry and begins with an N, and we have a nice chat about bariatric surgery.

But I was going to do a bunch of house cleaning tonight but my leg hurt too much, so did my finger, so I'm taking it easy and will attack it tomorrow. So my weight is down to 286. That his 13 pounds since my surgery. I would like that to be more but I'm happy with this. Not a very profound blog but it will have to do for today. The funky thing about today's blog is that it was dictated rather than typed. I love playing with new gadgets.

I know this pain.

Ouch, why does this always happen at 2:30am? Ouch, the pain in my side is getting my attention. Ow, what is happening? My plumbing has stopped. My pipes aren't working. My god this hurts. Honey, I hate to wake you up but we have to go to the hospital now!

I guess if I have to go to the hospital 2:30am is about the best time of day. No traffic was we drive out on the highway to Victoria General. Easy to park but I resent paying for parking in the middle of the night when there are only two other cars in the lot. But I could walk right up to the counter and get some help.

I can usually tell how serious my injuries are by how much I will use humour in my interview with the admin people, nurses and doctors in emergency. The more scared I am the more I will joke. It is a bizarre quirk. This morning I am full of one-liners when I am not bent over in pain. A couple of weeks ago when I had my RNY surgery there was no humour at all. It was all business and I had tons of confidence.

So now it was checking in and waiting. This was my fifth kidney stone feeling experience and as soon as I explained my symptoms to the doctor he said those magic words - "Well get you some morphine as soon as possible." After my RNY they gave me dilauted which is really cool if you want to sleep. Morphine makes me just not care about the pain in my side. Which was exactly what I needed. After three and a half hours of x-rays, blood tests, and waiting they sent me home with a handful of pills, a prescription and the news that this is either a kidney infection or kidney stones. The tests will tell and they will take some time.

So I went home, Marla drove because the nurse said I "looked really really stoned." I think she was right.

So now I am on the bench again. No excessive exercise until I see Dr. Amson on Wednesday. I am going to do some easy walks but it looks like I have to stay out of the gym for a while longer. Resting more is a good idea.

Pushing the limits

I shouldn't be pushing my limits. Everyone tells me "don't push your limits." This is rather difficult for me because I never played by the 'rules' before and it is a challenge to do so now. Let's start off with how am I feeling. I feel great. I am 16 days post surgery. My new stomach has taught me a few new rules - Don't drink too much water, don't eat too fast, don't eat too many carbs and especially Don't eat lettuce!
But this is all quite strange for me. All my research said "it took me six weeks before I could eat chicken" or "it took me months before I could handle an egg." I spent a while considering which would come first for me - the chicken or the egg. Frankly neither was an issue. I was eating poached eggs within four days of coming home from the hospital. I tried chicken just a few days ago and again - not a problem. This might be because I am not eating very much. One egg fills me for hours. A piece of chicken breast may be as only as large as a tablespoon.
I think the disadvantage of feeling good is that silly idea that I am invincible. I have to convince myself that going to exercise three times in one day is a bit excessive. And that it makes sense for me to rest.
Resting is important. It has taken me nearly three weeks to be able to just slow down, stop and rest. Yesterday Marla and I had to commit to not doing a whole day where we wouldn't do chores, no errands, just spending the day resting. Marla was a saint about the whole thing because she watched really bad super hero movies with me (which really weren't very good).
So what have I learned - I really picked up that I have to respect my limits because they are not just a set of rules handed down by doctors, dietitians, and experienced WLS'ers, but they are commandments that my body have set up to say "If you want to be healthy; don't screw around!"
On the other hand, I get very contrary guidance from my body. On one hand, or rather stomach, I cannot eat much. Yet, because I am not eating very much, my blood sugars are very low. I don't want to have more sugars but my doctors are telling me to use juices and carbs to get my levels higher. Advice from the forums and friends are going "no, stay away those empty calories and carbs." Everyone means well and everyone has their own story - I will just make this part of mine. But it comes down to this - I need the advice of everyone on the forums and those who help keep my best interests at heart. I also need to rely on the experience of my surgeon and specialists. So let us just take it all one day at a time, and keep moving forward towards an improved healthier me. Those are the only limits I need to push - the ones that make me a better me.