Wed. was the beginning of my new diet, "Full Fluids". This one will, once again, last two weeks but it is the final 2week diet after this I will go through a series of 1 week diets as I adjust my body to accepting solid foods again. This diet basically adds just a few new items to what I am already eating but they are big ticket items that make me feel like I'm actually "eating" again.
I can now have hot cereal such as oatmeal or cream of wheat, made very thin; low fat, artificial sweetened yogourt with no chunks in it; and low fat, cream soups made with skim (0%) milk, strained. I can also have low fat artificial sweetened puddings if I want but I never used to eat them so I don't see the point in eating them now just for the sake of it. I've also stopped eating the jello, too, now, since I don't like it. I must continue with the three Boosts a day and of course, the vitamin supplements which are for life. In case you've forgotten I'm taking Calcium +D, twice a day and a pre-natal supplement once a day (this is because they have twice as many nutrients than a regular one a day multi-vitamin. Even men who've had the operation take the pre-natal for life.)
Of course, I'm in heaven with the new food! I love cream of wheat and am glad to have real fibre back in my diet. Yogourt is one of my favourite foods and the cream soups are a hot meal, finally! Suitable ones I can eat are hard to find though. Tomato soup is fine. But others even when they say low fat often have the milk products already added, in the canned versions. So I can't have these since they are made with cream (not skim milk). So far we've only found Knorr packaged soups which you add your own milk to and only in Cream of Broccoli. But we'll keep looking around and try some health food stores too because this is definitely a food I want to eat for life.
Other good news! I did a weigh in on Tuesday in preparation for the new diet and have now lost 43lbs but more important than the numbers I have also gone down 2 clothes sizes. Clothes I was wearing before I started the Opti-Fast (Oct. 8) are all too big for me now! I'm reaching to the back (well middle) of my closet and wearing clothes I haven't worn in years. I'm losing it all in my abdomen and my friend says you can see it in my face. I can see my toes when I look down! That's a new sensation. But even more importantly my mobility has improved exponentially. I can bend over, touch the ground, tie my shoes, put on my pants, generally move around with so much ease now where before I started this program I had serious mobility issues that were just getting worse. I feel healthier.
As far as surgery recuperation: all my incisions are now exposed and healing nicely. Some have little scabs, a few are already healed. I'm still tender on the outside and a somewhat sore on the inside. Sleeping is still an issue but nowhere near as painful as before. I can sleep on my side now, once I slowly get into position but still wake a few times a night. But as I said it is nowhere near as bad so I'm just grateful it is improving and figure another week should do it.
Walking is going fine. I'm back to going to Daily Mass, so I walk to church and back every morning plus I walk downtown whenever I need to. I'm walking wherever I have to go, if possible and we are parking at the back of parking lots, trying to just make life naturally more active. Plus several times a week, I'm going out for a walk around the neighbourhood going a little further when I feel I can. I feel I'm doing fine at this stage. I'm still slow because my insides are sore but I can walk, just not fast.
Be back again either in 2 weeks when the diet changes to "Pureed Foods" or after Dec. 6, my one month check up at the clinic, whichever comes first. You do the math, too early in the morning for me and I have to go get ready for church.
Way to go. You're getting there. Walking is great exercise. Even slowly. Before you know if you'll be going further and faster. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love cream of wheat, too!