Food Plans, Eating, and LOTS of Leftovers

Well…where to begin. To start with things are going pretty well since my last update. I ended up calling my NUT (nutritionist for all you non-WLS people) early in the week of July 9 because I wanted to know what other things that I could incorporate into the full liquid diet. By this point I had tired of broths, clear liquids, Jell-O, and the like and—even though I wasn’t hungry and can honestly say I STILL really haven’t been hungry—I know I needed to get some sort of nutrition in.

Also like everyone said on Obesity Help, I am now SOOO over protein shakes. I had been using the Premier Protein RTD Shake (chocolate) since before surgery (don’t tell my surgeon but I SOOO substituted these some in place of Optifast…there is only so much a girl can take!) but even now they are just a little too thick/too sweet for me. 

So after speaking with Amanda we determined that as long as I wasn’t have any problems (pain, nausea, foamies-all the stuff that comes along with trying to reintroduce things to your new sleeve) that I could spend the next two days on full liquids and then move onto PUREED FOODS! WHOOO HOOO! 

Now just so that you get an idea, in our plan pureed foods does not mean that you ACTUALLY have to puree things (yeah chicken breast pureed just CANNOT be good). Basically she gave me the definition of anything that you can mash with your fork so things like…

Soft fish (tilapia, canned tuna, canned salmon) 

Chicken (canned or really REALLY moist and mushy chicken) 

Well cooked veggies 

Fat free refried beans 

Mashed potatoes (oooh it’s been so long) 

Cottage/Ricotta cheese 

Cream soups (I DO NOT WANT TO EAT ANY MORE SOUP EVER IN MY LIFE...so tired) Greek yogurt (low fat or light of course) 

Grits/Oatmeal (thin and runny)

Coming from someone who was previously enjoying the broth from Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup (my Mom was eating the noodles), pinto bean broth (OMG it was sooo good!), and Jell-O (if I never eat it again it will be too soon) I wanted to really enjoy the first thing that I ate in pureed foods. 

Since I am a true southerner I had to make it something that I have grown up with and really enjoy. So can you guess what it was? 

CHEESE GRITS!

My Mom made them for me JUST RIGHT and they were that perfect thin, soupy consistency that you can only get from the perfect amount of water, time on the stove, and piece of American sliced cheese. And of course…I couldn't finish it all. 

So with that I have ventured into “pureed” foods and so far I love it. I can honestly say that I haven’t really been “hungry” in the true sense of the word…at least nowhere near how I would feel hunger previously but I’ve been really good about keeping up with mealtimes, separating them from drinking, and trying to build on getting in my protein.

SN: I already love the fact that I constantly have LEFTOVERS! For example…below is a tablespoon of cole slaw and 2 ounces of broiled baby shrimp from Mayflower Seafood. I got the broiled popcorn shrimp platter (baby shrimp with seafood seasoning and no breading) and just doubled the hush puppies for the side and gave them to Mom. This was purchases on Friday, July 13. I was STILL eating it as of Monday, July 16. That NEVER happens with me…NEVER. I have had leftovers and usually they make it home…and are gone the same night—definitely a welcome change. I LOVE saving money already because I buy less food and what I do buy lasts for several meals! 

Mind you I will be honest and tell you that I noticed that I skipped just a tad bit ahead in my eating plan since the beginning so I am reigning that back in now because I want to make sure that I have the MOST successful journey that I can in WL and I know that—logically—I need to **FOLLOW THE DAMN RULES**. So with that being said the next week or so I am gonna be working on my deli turkey/provolone cheese, chicken salad, egg salad, chili, and ricotta bake that I made (or Mom made) that’s already in the fridge. 

I did find that I had to puree the chili a little and I’ve even had mashed potatoes that were pretty good (homemade) but I found that the cheese I added really sat heavy so I may give up my shredded cheese for a little bit…it sits kind of heavy on Wonder Belly…

Yeah…you read that right…Wonder Belly…I am trying out different pet names for my sleeve and I haven’t really settled on one yet. But Wonder Belly is kind of cute...

As far as the rest of food goes I did get some vitamins finally… 

Centrum Multivitamin Orange Flavored Chewables – taste OK…I’ll deal with them for now Citracal Calcium Citrate+D3 Petites – HUGE! Not sure where they get "petite" from…ugh 

CVS High-Potency Vitamin D 5000 IU Softgels – Resuming from pre-op meds. YAY for small pills! 

And I found a great protein powder that I LOVE the taste of - Body Fortress Super Advanced Whey Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter. The stats on it are pretty good and you can’t beat 26g of protein in a single serving. I’ve been following the advice of one of my favorite OH buddies and using unsweetened Almond Milk instead of skim or 1% milk to help save on the calories and carbs and so far so good. And of course anytime I can add my Torani Sugar Free Caramel Syrup to enhance the flavor then all is well with the protein shake world. LOL! 

Well that’s all for now…I’ll post again in a few days to tell you about the fun I’ve been having watching the scale more some more and trying on a few clothes in Lane Bryant. 

As for your inspiration until next time…I thought this appropriate…