Yummy Food!

Hello everyone!


I've started this post three times in as many weeks, but they all sounded so damned depressing I decided to hold off until my mood changed and I could write something that didn't sound like it started with: "It was a dark and stormy night..."


It's been 6 weeks since my surgery, and in some ways it seems longer, but in other ways it seems like it was just a week ago. This morning I went to the surgeon's office for my 6 week follow-up visit, which went wonderfully! He cleared me to resume any and all physical activity (watch out ladies!), and said I should resume a more normal variety of foods, as long as I can tolerate them.


I am SO excited! Woot!


I've been spending alot of time experimenting with foods. One area that has really stumped me since I started on soft foods several weeks ago, was SNACKS. You know, those things that you eat around 3:00 because you aren't still full from lunch, but you gotta make it through until dinner, but if you don't eat something you're gonna freak!  Yeah, those things. 


I decided the best thing to do was to go grocery shopping for the family and use that time to find foods that I could enjoy as snacks. I usually do a lot of the grocery shopping but in the past few months I haven't done it much at all. In fact, this was the first time I had walked into the grocery store since my surgery.


I set off with my extremely detailed shopping list, sorted by isle and then alphabetically within each isle, expected prices and quantity I needed, with coupons cross-referenced on another sheet so I didn't miss any. [ok, you can stop rolling your eyes now!] 


I started in the fruit and veggie isle. I looked up from my shopping list and came to a complete stop!


Everything looked SO green and FRESH! OMG! You have no idea how appetizing and delicious it all looked! I'd spent the last 5 1/2 weeks eating bland protein drinks and baby food. Seeing the big red tomatoes, piles of bright yellow corn on the cob, forest-green avocados, glistening oranges, and campaign-pink peaches all laid out in huge displays was like seeing a rainbow for the first time in my life. I just stood there, for what seemed like minutes, list dangling in my hand, drinking in the view! 


This will give you an idea of what it was like. :-)


I picked one of each of these:

Apple (Red Delicious) Apple (Macintosh)BananaPeach (Locally grown)Green Grapes (1lb bunch)Watermelon (seedless)

Then I wandered over to the Organic / All Natural area and picked up 5 protein bars, each a different flavor and from a different company.

CLIF Builder Bar - Chocolate ChipLUNA Bar - Peanut Butter CookieGenisoy - Creamy Peanut YogurtThink Thin - Creamy Peanut ButterBalance Bar - Peanut Butter

Do you detect a theme here?  :)  As you all know, I don't like chocolate, so the first one made it onto the list only because the picture made it look more like a cookie than a chocolate bar. 


I did the same for Greek Yogurts:

Chobani - Non-Fat PlainOIKOS - Honey Vanilla

Next it was on to the meat isle. I can have any kind of meat I want, but need to be careful about red meats since they usually cause an issue until about 7 or 8 months out from surgery. I'm sticking with Chicken and Fish for now. Got some frozen shrimp. Yum!


And finally, I picked up some Tofu.  Yes, folks, you read correctly:  TOFU!  I've been doing some reading on it and figured - it's super packed with protein, so I decided to give it a try! We'll see how it goes.


More on the taste tests and my preferences in my next post!


On another good note, I've finally gotten the hang of getting enough water into my system. As I suspected, it's a matter of having a glass of water or other liquid in your hand or right next to you, every waking hour of the day. Sounds arduous, but it's become pretty easy now that I've gotten in the habit. But never fear - you won't ever find me wandering in the house or work sporting one of those 128oz water jugs, conspicuously demonstrating my need to consume water.  :-)


That's it for now. Thanks for your patience and keep up the good fight!


Weight Loss Update: 

  Surgery Date: 6/4/2012
  Days Since Surgery: 38
  Weight Lost: 71 lbs
  That's Like Carrying Around: One of these!