Back On Real Food

This week I started back on a full range of foods following my final dietitian appointment.

It has been quite an adjustment and I have discovered there are some foods that just do not sit well in my stomach.

Things that are really starchy and soft like soft bread and cake like texture go in to my stomach and seem to set like a big lump making me feel really uncomfortable.  Then there are things like protein that make me feel full really fast.

Everyday is a new food experience and I am just taking things one day at a time trying to work out what works and what does not.

I am struggling to eat enough and remembering to eat my snacks if proving to be a bit of challenge.

Hopefully things will get easier over time.

I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.

Learning To Chew

Tonight I discovered what happens when you try and progress though the post op phases too fast and do not follow the rules about chewing your food properly.

I made Hubby some spaghetti bolognese and I made sure it was full of veggies so that when I pureed it I would be getting some veg rater than just meat and carbs.
I included zucchini, carrot, mushrooms, capsicum, spinach and eggplant along with onion, garlic, mince and tomatoes.
Once it was cooked I dished up my portion into a Pyrex jug and blended it with a stick blender.

When we sat down to eat I got a few mouthfuls in and discovered a piece of mushroom that was still whole.  I figured that since it was just a piece of mushroom I could just chew it up until it was a puree texture.  But even though I knew what I needed to do my mouth just had a mind of it's own.  All those years of just gulping down food ad taught my mouth to just chew chew swallow and my new stomach was having none of it.
I felt like I had swallowed an entire mushroom whole not just a small piece that had been partly chewed.  It was really uncomfortable and felt like it was sitting on top of the opening of my stomach.  I won't say that I was in pain but it was close.  I walked around a bit pleading with my body to just accept the mushroom but my body was having none of it.  When my mouth started to fill with saliva I knew it was time to rush to the bathroom sink.
I made it in time to promptly bring up the 3 mouthfuls and the offending mushroom.  With such a little stomach there was not much to get rid of so it was over pretty quickly.  It did not however stop the tears that always happen to accompany an episode of vomiting for me.

So if you have had just had your sleeve or are thinking of getting one done then just remember that at this stage you need to make sure your food is well pureed.  Then when you are ready to eat solids again you need to follow the rule your mother used to tell you of "chew each mouthful 20 times" (or was that just my mum?) and then and only then should you swallow your food..

I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave.  Feel free to ask questions.

If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.

Crunchy Crunchy Mmmmmm

Today I was allowed cruskits and oh how nice it was to bite into something.

It seems really strange that one of the things I missed the most was texture.  But what I have missed the most is variety of flavour.  Having to eat or in my case drink the same thing day after day at every meal really made me think about how lucky we are to have the ability to eat a huge range of food to choose from every day.  It made me really think about people in those countries where eating the same thing day after day is a way of life.
Everything tastes so good right now but I am still over estimating how much I can eat.  I only managed 1 and a bit of the cruskits above.  Hubby is loving all the bits I don't eat.

I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave.  Feel free to ask questions.

If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.

First Week Back At Work

This week has been pretty uneventful but I have been back at work and I seem to be coping ok.

I was worried that I would not have enough mental stamina to get me through the day this first week back.
I have noticed that my brain seems to be a bit slow off the mark but I get there in the end.

My boss knows what I have had done but no one else knows and I plan to keep it that way.  She has been really supportive and has been checking in with me each day to see how I am doing which is nice.

I have been taking a multi vitamin for the last few days so I hope that will give me a bit more pep in my step. I know I should have been taking then all along but I kind of forgot.  Oh well better late than never.

I have been sleeping a lot more than normal but I know this is pretty normal for when you are recovering from surgery.

I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave.  Feel free to ask questions.

If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.

Real Food Oh How I Missed You

Oh My Goodness.  I never knew baby food could be so good.

After what seems like an eternity on sweet shakes it was so good to be eating savoury foods again.

It took me ages to drink my 1/2 cup of soup but this is what my dietitian had told me to expect.  It took me over half an hour to get it down and I had to reheat it a couple of times.  Tomorrow I am going to heat it up an then put it in a thermos flask to keep it warm.

I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave.  Feel free to ask questions.

If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.