056 Eating on Stage 3 Day 1

Jimmy looked forward to Stage 3 Day 1 for weeks. Why? It's the first time he could plan meals with some amount of true eating freedom! So what did he eat? Well, I am going to show you that in a minute.

First, if you don't know what the heck we are talking about...

After bariatric surgery, you should go through a series of diet changes--our program calls them Stages. This will allow you to gradually get back to a "normal" diet and will allow time for your stomach to heal properly. Every program has different requirements and different diets. Read more about Jimmy's Stage 3 Diet. Please remember that although we provide you the information about what Jimmy's doctor has prescribed for him you should still consult your own doctor before starting any new diet or exercise program.

Drum roll please! (Seriously I almost started singing the 12 Days of Christmas in my head--bariatric style--as I started to write this next part. How funny!)

Stage 3 Day 1: Breakfast

This is the first time in six weeks that Jimmy has been able to eat a banana, which used to be a daily activity.  He was very, very excited about eating even half a banana! (slice of reduced fat sharp cheddar and half a banana with a dab of reduced fat peanut butter)

Stage 3 Day 1: Lunch

The plate on the left is Jimmy's food. He thought it would be funny to compare it to the plate of one of the teenagers we were eating with at church. (1oz of sliced Turkey from the deli, reduced fat sharp cheddar, 1 oz wheat thins which we found out Krystal really meant to be Triscuits. haha)

Stage 3 Day 1: Dinner

For dinner we had my homemade turkey chili. In this shot Jimmy is comparing what he used to eat in one serving of chili (the big white bowl) with what he is allowed to have right now (1/2 cup pictured in the yellow bowl).

I hope you enjoyed getting to see what Jimmy ate on the first day of his Stage 3 diet!

055 Gastric Sleeve Post-Op Week Four Update

Once again I was able to wrangle Jimmy in front of the camera to give you an update on how life is treating him. In his gastric sleeve post-op week four update, you can look forward to hearing about some differences in portion sizes and some updated weight loss numbers. There is a full body shot but I wanted to get a better shot of him doing the 360 degree turn but he is really tall and your kitchen is really small so I apologize about the quality on that one. Still we did try!

This week is also the very busy lead up to the Christmas holidays. I wish you all the very Merriest of Christmases and a Happy New Year. I look forward to telling you all about how our Christmas and New Year were different than in years past and hopefully about some new traditions we have started in the process. So many new experiences to look forward too!

Enjoy the vlog and come back to visit often.

054 Gastric Sleeve Diet Stage 3

Today marks four weeks out from Jimmy's gastric sleeve weight loss surgery! We are so excited because he is doing really, really well AND he gets to start his Stage 3 Diet on Sunday! He won't have his month appointment for a couple more weeks (due to the holidays) but when he does we will let you know what Dr. Hornbostel and everyone else had to say. So I know that everyone really seems to love and be fascinated by what Jimmy is allowed to eat and what he is not. I am including his whole Stage 3 diet below. Be aware that some of the foods Jimmy was allowed to eat before are being phased out for healthier options now that he is allowed a wider variety of foods. Don't miss that because I guarantee Jimmy won't! I realize this diet may be different than the one prescribed by your surgeon. All bariatric surgical programs are different. Talk to your surgeon before changing your diet or exercise program. This diet was prescribed to Jimmy by his surgeon (Dr. H) and nutritionist (Krystal).

Jimmy's Post-Op Stage 3 Gastric Sleeve Surgery Diet
What is the Stage 3 bariatric diet?
It is a soft diet that consists of foods high in protein with no added sugar and minimal fat

Recommended Foods:
Meats/Eggs/Cheese/Dairy/Legumes - These foods are high in protein, consume them first at meals. Meat should be lean, moist, tender and must be chopped or ground. Make sure your body can tolerate fish and poultry before trying to eat beef and/or pork.

• Skinless chicken or turkey
• Baked or grilled fish and shellfish
• Lean ground beef or pork (if tolerating poultry and fish well)
• Thinly sliced deli meats such as chicken, turkey, roast beef, or ham (these should be purchased at the deli counter so they will be lower in salt and preservatives)
• Meat, tuna, or egg salad prepared with light mayonnaise
• Meatless burger (vegetable, bean or soy based)
• Well cooked beans: black, garbanzo, kidney, lima, navy, pinto (including low fat refried beans), etc.
• Cheese (reduced fat)
• Eggs
• Creamy peanut butter (less than 5g of Sugar per serving & may be used in small amounts to add protein to foods such as oatmeal, yogurt, and/or protein drinks)
• Skim, 1% Milk, or soy milk (containing no more than 20g Carbs per serving)
• Yogurt - Low fat or Fat free (must be no sugar added and have less than 20g Carbohydrates per serving)

Protein Supplements - It is still very important that you consume between 40g to 60g of protein a day. This requirement will never go away.

• High Protein nutritional drinks as allowed on Stage 1 and Stage 2 diets (must have a minimum of 15g Protein per serving and less than 20g Carbs per serving)
• Powdered protein drinks may still be used
• Protein bars (containing at least 15g protein per serving and no more than 20g of Carbs per serving)

Vegetables - Vegetables MUST BE COOKED until very soft and prepared with minimal fat. Do not eat skins.

• Asparagus
• Beets, Broccoli, Cauliflower
• Celery, Carrots
• Eggplant, okra
• Lentils, beans as listed above
• Mushrooms, onions, peppers
• Spinach, sugar snap peas
• Squash, any kind
• Turnips
• Green beans or wax beans
• Tomatoes, no skin
• Potatoes, white or sweet (no skins, no fried potatoes)

Fruits - All fruits must be canned or frozen (except ripe Bananas). Do not eat skins or peels. Canned fruits must be packed in its own juice. Frozen fruit should have no sugar added.

• Apricots, peaches, pears, crushed pineapple
• Applesauce (no sugar added), mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail
• Frozen honeydew melon, cantaloupe, seedless watermelon
• Canned or frozen mango, papaya, cherries

Starches/Oils/Misc. Foods

• Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat (no sugar added)
• Cold Cereals (containing no more than 5g. of Sugar per serving)
• Fat Free or Low Fat Soup
• Whole Wheat Crackers (Triscuits - updated 12/17/12 as of Jimmy's meeting with Krystal)
• Whole Wheat toast, melba toast
• Sugar Free Pudding
• Sugar free ice cream or frozen yogurt. Avoid sherbet.
• Oils - olive, canola, soybean
• Margarine (trans fat free), butter, sugar free jelly
• Herbs, Spices, Salt, & Pepper

Foods to Avoid

• Soft bread (it can make a dough ball that could plug up your stomach)
• Rice
• Spaghetti and other pastas
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Raisins, prunes, and other dried fruit (these are too sweet)
• Granola and other Cereals with nuts
• Raw fruits and vegetables, salad
• Nuts and Popcorn
• Chips and crackers (other than whole wheat crackers)
• Tough or chewy meat
• Whole pieces of corn or whole peas (puree before eating)
• High fat foods (butter, margarine, oil, regular mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, salad dressing, whole milk, half and half, ice cream, cakes, cookies, pies, other desserts, bacon, and sausage)

Serving Size: 1/4c. - 1/2c. (2 - 4oz) of food, 3 - 4 times a day. NO MORE THAN 1/2c AT A TIME! Focus on eating foods containing protein first. Avoid drinking with meals and for at least 30 minutes after meals. Drinking with meal or directly after meals can cause Dumping Syndrome. Continue to drink a minimum of 6c. of fluid daily (see Stage 1). Avoid Fruit Juice or limit it to a maximum 4oz. per day (100% juice with no sugar added). 

Duration: Follow this diet for Weeks 5, 6, 7, & 8 following the surgery or until your doctor advises differently (this diet begins 1 month after your surgery)

053 A Not so Regular Doctor's Appointment

It's almost been four weeks since Jimmy's surgery. He has done amazing! Plus he has lost over 85 lbs since starting his liquid diet on Nov. 2nd! However, your body starts to go through some major changes when you lose that weight so Jimmy really needed to go see his primary care doctor.

Yesterday was the first time in the six and a half years that we have been married that I haven't been able to go to the doctor with Jimmy. He was a real trooper and decided to tough it out and go on his own even though he really, really hates going to the doctor's office. Anyway, so he goes in to talk about why he isn't sleeping well, why he is having dizziness when he is active, and why he is having cramping in his legs and knees when he tries to sleep.

Well...

He calls me two hours after his appointment was supposed to have started to tell me that he has just gotten in and that they are going to draw blood to check his potassium levels but that Dr. Weiderholt is concerned about his blood pressure because it is very low.

An hour later...

His blood pressure is fine when he is at rest but it drops after being active (like standing up or sitting down) so she is going to keep him a little longer to monitor him and she won't draw blood until his blood pressure comes up.

An hour later...

Jimmy calls to tell me that I need to come and pick him up because Dr. Weiderholt is sending him to the ER and doesn't want him to drive himself! Yeah I was more than a little surprised. So I leave work, drive across town to the doctor's office, pick him up, and drive him back across town to the ER.

We got right into the ER. What a blessing! The doctor got in to see us pretty quickly. He talked to Jimmy and determined that they needed to draw blood for labs and they would give him an IV for fluids and the ER doctor would call "Dr. Hornbuckle" (I am sure Dr. H would have been thrilled to know a colleague was totally murdering his name!) and talk to him about everything.

At this point Jimmy is pretty dehydrated from being the in doctor's office all day so they have a lot of trouble getting the IV in and have to bring in the vein ultrasound machine. They draw labs and get the IV going and give him two bags of IV fluid to make sure he is well hydrated. By the time the second bag was half empty they had the results of Jimmy's labs.

His potassium is low which is causing several of his symptoms. So they gave him two potassium pills in the hospital and prescribed a potassium pill for daily use at home over the next week. The doctors also decided to take Jimmy off his blood pressure medicine. Evidently his blood pressure has dramatically begun to improve due to the weight loss and the meds were making his blood pressure too low. Go figure! They also told us that the dehydration was making a mess of his blood pressure as well.

About three hours later...

Once the second bag of fluids was finished, we were free to go although Jimmy will have to go in to have labs again on Friday as well as a follow up with Dr. H. Thankfully, my friend Dana was able to give me a ride to back to my car so I didn't have to leave it at the Dr. Weiderholt's office overnight. Then when I got home we settled down and snuggled in and watched Survivor and ate dinner.

It was a really long evening, but I wanted to say "Thank You" to all of you who offered up thoughts and prayers on our behalf. You are greatly appreciated! And Thank You to Dana for going out of her way to pick me up and take me back to my car. You are a lifesaver!

052 Please Pass the Fiber

Today I want to keep it short but valid. DON'T FORGET YOUR FIBER! I realize that every bariatric program is different but there are a few things that they all have in common. They should be low in calories and fat and high in protein.

What most people don't realize it that the increase in protein in your diet can cause some major constipation! It's important that you talk to your doctor about what kind of fiber they would like you to take. Our program recommends Benefiber. However, there has been some kind of recall on Benefiber so it is next to impossible to find at a reasonable price due to the shortage. Go figure! So some of our friends have recommended we try Miralax instead.

The important thing is that you are taking a fiber which works for you because prolonged constipation can lead to some serious conditions such as blockage. Constipation can also reduce your already low appetite and cause nausea. None of these things are fun so don't forget your fiber!

051 Hitting the Protein Goal

Over the past couple of weeks we have really been trying to adjust to this whole new way of life and this new diet. Two of the hardest things (related to food) which we have had to face have been #1 burn out on the food that Jimmy is currently allowed to eat and #2 trying to get in Jimmy's daily allotted protein. Thankfully, Jimmy will have more variety in his diet starting on Sunday, December 16th, when he can start his  Stage 3 diet. But what to do about protein?

Let me tell you...the liquid protein shots that he had to drink the first week after the surgery were just plain nasty! So we definitely don't want to go back to those. Some of the whey protein powder drinks leave much to be desired too. So we have been searching the internet, blogs, forums, and support group for some great protein shake recipes.

As Bariatric Foodie put it, "...there is no excuse for drinking a nasty protein shake!" So here are some awesome protein shake recipes that we have either tried or look forward to trying soon.

Berry Cheesecake Protein Smoothie
1 Scoop unflavored protein powder
1c. 1% or skim Milk
1/2c. 1% Cottage Cheese
Frozen or Fresh Fruit to Taste

Pumpkin Pie
Milk
1 scoop vanilla protein
2 tbsp pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tbsp sugar-free pumpkin pie syrup (or 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice)
sweetener to taste

Cinnabon
Milk
1 scoop vanilla whey
1 tbsp Sugar Free, Fat Free cheesecake pudding mix
1 tbsp Sugar Free cinnamon syrup
1 tbsp toasted almond syrup 

Chocolate, Caramel, & Coffee Protein Shake
2 scoops Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
8 oz Decaf Coffee
8 oz 1% Milk
2 tbsp Sugar Free Caramel Creamer


Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake
1 Scoop chocolate protein powder
1c. unsweetened chocolate almond milk (could sub with sugar free vanilla coconut milk)
1 T. natural peanut butter
Sweetener to Taste (optional)
3-5 Ice Cubes

050 Post-Op Week 3 Update

Happy Holidays! Yes, it's that time of year again. Can you believe it?

To me it is much easier to believe that it's almost Christmas time again than  to believe that it has already been three weeks since Jimmy's gastric sleeve weight loss surgery. I mean come on! Three weeks already! No way! Well I can deny it all I want but it is true.

So Jimmy has recorded a little week three post-op video for you to enjoy and to let you know how he is doing. He also wanted to let me know that it was really nice to see many of you at church yesterday. It was his first service he was able to attend since his surgery and he had really been missing everyone. Thank you all for all of the prayers and concern and thoughts that have been offered up on our behalf. We really appreciate all of them.

Before I start rambling, I better stop and let you get on with the show!

Thanks again,