Enlightened!

I never would've thought there was so much to learn after gastric bypass surgery. Each day I learn something new about myself and how the surgery has changed how I eat and view food.

Day before yesterday was not a very good food day. I planned my meals and ate them pretty much every 3 hours. After each meal, I felt a bit "off". Not sick, not dumping, but just "off". My stomach hurt after each meal. I made sure to chew the food very very well and to eat slowly, but it still hurt after I ate, so I made sure to eat less, thinking maybe my meals were too large. Still a little pain each time. I can't drink with meals because that pushes the food out of my stomach and doesn't give it time to absorb nutrients, so I have to wait 30 minutes after eating to drink anything. So, the day was a bit uncomfortable.

So yesterday, I sat and thought about what I ate the previous day. Sometimes it's easier to look back and evaluate than it is to try and do it when you're in the situation, you know? So I looked back at my food and realized that the food I was eating was low in moisture content. Maybe I needed to make sure what I was eating wasn't so dry.

I prepared a few tilapia fillets and covered them with julienned zucchini strips. Only a few minutes in the pan and it was done. Love that. I plated up a small piece of the fish and some veggies and cut them up real fine on my plate. I ate my portion (until I was full) and guess what? No yucky feeling, no pain in my tummy! The fish and veggies were very moist and I bet that helped a lot. The fish and veggies lasted me for 4 meals and I didn't have one problem after eating. Amazing!

So there is a lot to learn about my new stomach. I know it's small, but it is picky. It wants good protein and moist veggies. Oh, and I'm supposed to eat food in this order when I eat: protein, veggies, carbs (if there is room). I need to remember that, too, when I eat. Protein first. There isn't much room in that small stomach right now, only about 1/4 cup, so I need to give it good stuff to make me feel good.

On another note, I've been reading this really good book called "Green for Life" by Victoria Boutenko. She talks about how green drinks really are the elixir of life. How green drinks/smoothies are optimal for health. I haven't made a green drink in ages, and I really need to do that. I just have to get past the greenness of the drink, you know? I know it tastes really good, but it's just so GREEN! When I was juicing and making smoothies prior to surgery, I felt terrific and I know that by drinking them, helped me recover quickly from surgery. It's just that after surgery I can only drink a little bit at a time and so little of anything that I just stopped making the drinks. Well, dammit, back to it! I don't want to be tired and I don't want to feel yucky. GREEN DRINKS ON THE MENU TODAY!

Down to 253.8 today. Wow!