My pouch said NO to oatmeal

Dec 21, 2010

Well, I tried a new food for dinner last night....and it sat in my pouch like a rock for a couple hours. Ugh.

Oatmeal.

I mixed in a bit of peanut butter and added in some protein powder to deal with the carbs in it, and decided to try it. I got through about 4-5 bites and just couldn't stomach it any more.

I didn't dump. I just felt nauseous and grossed out. The texture was nasty. It sat in my stomach like a rock, and just made me feel icky for a couple hours. I can eat a couple spoonfuls of plain grits or cream of wheat just fine....Maybe it's the difference in texture?  I think I'm going to leave oatmeal alone.

Most proteins have been ok. I can eat thin cut deli meats, but I just have to be sure to chew them really well. And a very small amount fills me up. Fat free refried beans are great. Sardines went down perfectly. Tuna (if it's not albacore....albacore is too coarse and dry for me right now) is yummy. Salmon was too thick and dry. Gotta wait for that one. Yogurt. Cottage Cheese. Greek Yogurt. Creamy natural peanut butter...but just a small amount at a time. So far, only a couple protein items have been rejected.

I've been afraid to try too many non-veggie carbs. I can eat 1 piece of melba toast without any problem. I put peanut butter on one as a snack sometimes. I've tried a couple spoonfuls of plain grits and been ok. Mostly I've stuck to a couple bites of mashed veggies....canned spinach, canned green beans, and mashed frozen cauliflower and brussel sprouts. But I do notice that a very small amount of veggie can fill up the pouch quickly....so i take a bite or two of it only after eating my protein. I can eat 1 brussel sprout at a meal, or one small sprig of cauliflower, a spoonful of the spinach.....it really does fill up the pouch fast.And it has to be completely mashable with a fork. Anything that isn't cooked until mushy can get stuck. I learned this hard-core after swallowing a bite of carrots that weren't quite mushy enough. Amazing that one wrong bite can cause such discomfort.....but I learned that lesson fast.  I think that one spoonful of veggies at a meal is important though because I notice if I have just a bit of veggie at each meal, that I go to the bathroom regularly without any help from Miralax.

I'm 2 1/2 weeks out from surgery. I'm basically pain free except for a twinge here and there. I'm able to drink liquids pretty easily. I have no problems with pureed foods, and can handle some softer regular foods like cheese, thin sliced deli meat, creamy peanut butter, mashed veggies, etc. But anything coarser than that is still a no-no. I haven't dumped on anything yet....but I really haven't tried more than a couple things with more than a small amount of carbs in it. I have only thrown up once.....and it was only one bite of carrots that were still too fibrous for my pouch to approve.

I walk up and down the block outside our shop several times a day. I can't go very far yet before I'm worn out and getting twinges from my tummy....I think it's because I still weigh so much. I've dropped from the 390's to the 350's since surgery....but 350 pounds is still ALOT of extra weight! I can do my 1 mile Leslie Sansone walking workout though....it's basically 18 minutes of marching in place. The only problem with the workout is that I find it boring....so I think what I can do is put on a movie or something, and then do all the same moves (marching, side steps, little kicks, knee lifts) for 18-20 minutes during the show. That ought to build up my strength so that I can walk further outside. We live in a small town and I'd love to be able to walk around the downtown area where our shop is....it's that quaint small town nostalgic sort of area. :) The 1 block I can go now will increase over time until I can take a "real'' walk each morning before opening. :) And another one in the evening with my son. :) 
Just gotta work up to it!

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