Solids

It's been just under 5 weeks since my surgery. To date I have lost 27 pounds. Wow! I am seeing collarbones that have been buried for years. I have lost 37.5 total inches from my body. 5.5 of those inches are from my waist. I am now walking about 4 miles a day when the weather cooperates and I have been given permission to ride my bike. I'll probably do that later this week.

In the past few days I have been introducing solid food to my diet. It has to be cut into tiny pieces and chewed thoroughly. So far I have tried roasted chicken, refried beans with cheese, pretzels, lettuce and baked tortilla chips. The lettuce was the only thing that gave me trouble. It was shredded and too stringy. I think I'll try cutting it into little squares to see if that works better. Here is an example of a meal: 2 baked tortilla chips, 1/4 cup of refried beans, 1/8 cup of shredded Mexican cheese and a tablespoon of lettuce. That used to be a small snack. The weird thing is that it takes about 15-20 minutes to eat and is more than satisfying. I'm still not really hungry but I've learned to read my body's signals when it needs fuel. Eating is now largely experimentation. I have been encouraged to try a variety of foods. The main recommendations were that the food should either be very moist or very crunchy. Those textures are easier to chew and digest. Regular bread tends to stick in the pouch and can result in having to have it extracted via the esophagus. Caution and rule following are important. I have even been encouraged to try going to a restaurant and to be sure to ask how the food is made.

Right now I am to eat 3 meals a day. In between I should drink skim or 1% milk, water or I can make a smoothie (milk, banana, splenda, ice) or have popcicles. I am allowed to flavor the milk with anything sugar free. As a former non milk drinker I have to say that I am working at that. I need to consume 1500-2000 mg of calcium a day. I have a supplement if I don't get enough in my food. I have to keep a chart each day to keep it all straight. I have to get 50-70 grams of protein each day. I have worked my way to the mid 50s.

Another encouraging sign is in my recent blood work. My liver enzyme readings have already dropped: SGPT dropped 25 points and SGOT dropped 3 points. That is really good for only a month. My Dr. said that in 6 months he'll order a CT scan to see how the size of my liver is doing. Since my abdomen isn't particularly distended my guess is that is shrinking. One of my friends commented on the fact that the whites of my eyes are now actually white instead of light yellow.

School and work are only a month away. I'm really glad that my surgery was able to be done during the summer as I will have time to fully recooperate and will be fresh to begin a new school year.