Product Review! Protein Bar

My memory is TERRIBLE!  I will forget to grab my lunch bag regularly.  I try to keep an assortment of goodies in my office for such occasions.  The newest addition to my horde is a protein energy bar, PowerCrunch.

Searching for it online I see it comes in many flavors.  I have not had much luck locating it locally.  Walmart and Harris Teeter are the only stores I have found it.  The many I have checked have only Vanilla or Chocolate.  Vanilla is pretty good.  The chocolate is a bit chalky tasting for me.  HOWEVER, I found their Peanut Butter Creme bars and I am in love!  Tastes like peanut wafers.

I can not eat a whole bar.   I made the mistake once and was super uncomfortable for hours.  I break it in half and save it for another snack time.

Who knew seafood tastes good!?

My whole life I never liked seafood.  Some shrimp I am good with but that is the extent of my surf cuisine.   I have tried all kinds and never liked a thing.  Lobster, crab, any fish you can forget it.  My husband convinced me to go to Red Lobster this week.  Every meal I have ever had there was a grudger.  Their non-fishy foods were not that great, so it was always a miserable experience.  But I threw the hubby a bone and agreed to go.  He ordered a lobster tail, my son got some shrimp bites.  For me, the waitress was fantastic!  She had several friends that had had WLS so she helped me find something appropriate.     She suggested a coconut shrimp bites meal.   Figured what the heck, worse comes to worse its not like I could eat much anyway and there would be takeout for my husband to eat the next day.  It was awesome!  My husband was enjoying his lobster so I asked if I could test it.  It was awesome too!  
This shift in taste buds is a trip!   I am in total experiment mode!  We cooked a couple lobster tails at home and they were great!   We ate them before I could take a picture.  Yesterday the experiment was Snow Crab Legs.   My Husband cooked a batch up and it was heavenly!

Wonder what I should try next!

School Shopping for the Kid and a little something extra for me!

This past weekend was Tax Free weekend in North Carolina.   Herds of people clamored all over the saving hot spots.  My son got all of his school needs and a few articles of clothing to add to his larger than mine collection.  When all the shopping for him was done I had an idea.  What else could be on sale this weekend and Tax Free.  I am sure a lot of school age and college students alike purchase bikes for school transportation.  I wondered if there was a bike I could afford that I could comfortably ride.

Here she is!

I tried many different styles of bikes and this one was the best for my knees.  My goal is to start every day with the treadmill before work and after work ride my pretty bike!  Maybe it needs a flower basket.. what you think?

Work & Food for the newbie

I have learned a terrible lesson.  Not preparing for everything leaves you short every time! 

Since I returned to work I have been trying to pre-plan my meals for the work day.  I cook up something that I can stretch through the week and some snack items.  

My latest snack discovery is PowerCruch bars.   They are 205 Calories, 14g Protein, 10g Carbs, and 1 Fiber.   I break the bar in half and have one half in the morning for breakfast and the other half for my afternoon snack.  I have never been a breakfast person.  I would go all day long without eating until I got home starved.

These plans have worked out well so far.. except yesterday.  I had to go out on the road all day.  I could not take my bars because its HOT outside and they would melt and get really nasty in the car.  I could not take my 4oz cup of Spaghetti Meat sauce on green beans because there was no where to heat it up.   THEN to add insult to injury I had left my wallet at work.  So no food I could eat on hand and no way to buy anything to get by. 

This weekend my game plan is to get a system down for the car.   I will need to get a cooler and find food that will weather the conditions on the road.  I hate. HATE when food wrappers get all wet and yucky from the condensation in those coolers so I will need to figure out a way around it.

If you have any road warrior plans let me know!

Week 2 of work done

Started to get more into the groove of things this week.  Work was not as tiresome.   I walked for at least 10 minutes 4 days before work.   My goal next week is every day 15 minutes.  I noticed a wonderful thing as this week progressed..  my knees are not bothering me as much.  Use to lock up on me if I stood for a long time and then sat, or sat for a long time and then stood.   I would take a bit of walking to stretch them back out and it was always very sore.  Stairs were not my friend.  Forget about sitting on the floor or a low level step.

I have been nibbling Turkey bacon over the last week.  The family wanted shrimp wrapped bacon and the turkey stuff just does not work as well.  Here is my dinner of pork bacon wrapped shrimp.  I was worried it was going to be too greasy for the new pouch but it was awesome!  Nice and soft, easily chewed up to proper texture.  A+

5 weeks post-op ...First road trip..

Its my sons 11th birthday.  He wanted to go to Carowinds (which is 5 hours away) and after 2 years of "I want a puppy" we broke down and found one between here and there.  So its time to plan.  2 Nights stay in a hotel.  12 hours total of car time.

I got a couple flavors of Atkins protein shakes, Water bottles, Sugar Free Pudding cups (Not the best option but good for dire need of food and nothing "right" available), Sugar Free Jello cubes (Food lion in the eastern NC has pouches of Sugar Free Jello cubes in the Dairy cooler), and stopped at the first off ramp that had a Wendy's to have a cup of chili on hand.

The first leg of the trip went well.  I ate one pudding cup and half of the chili cup on the road.

Carowinds... they do not believe in anything sugar free or  pouch friendly.  You cant bring anything in but a single water bottle.  I got lots of walking in since I was the designated accessories holder while the family road the rides.  There was a couple slow ones that I felt comfortable with but I was content to watch. 

We were at the park for 11 hours.  I stopped at every food stop looking for anything I could eat that would work and there was nothing!  Eventually I broke down and got a Carolina BBQ plate.  With lots of chewing it went down pretty good.. the first time.   I ate what I needed and wrapped the leftovers for later.   2-3 hours later I tried to nibble some more and it took all my strength to make it to the restroom before losing it.

One thing I have learned is once you... lose it.  Its pretty quick to go back to normal and go about your business.  For that I am very thankful.

After a few more hours I was beyond ready for a little something.  So I broke down and asked my husband to run to the opposite side of the park where we had seen a "Healthy" frozen yogurt shop (Sweet Frogs) and see if they had anything Sugar free that I could get.  After much waiting he returned victorious!   He brought a sugar free vanilla frozen yogurt with crushed peanuts and diced strawberries.  I do not think I have ever loved that man as much as I did when that first spoonful hit my stomach.  It was heavenly!  I ate what I needed to and gave the rest to my son.  I think I easily could have eaten the whole small cup but lets not push it!

The way home went without a hitch.  Same snacks going back that I had come down.  With the exception of a detour to pick up the cutest puppy.  

This was a great weekend.  But it definitely taught me to research the food options a little further if possible before going.

4 weeks and time for work!

Had my 3rd check up.  I still have this almost sunburn sensation on my stomach which apparently is an uncommon side affect.  Laying around the house is not going to make it any better and working is not going to make it any worse so I might as well get paid.

AND... I was promoted to Soft Foods!  YAY!

Suddenly I realized... how am I suppose to eat during work.  So I started my internet search for pouch friendly foods that I could make a batch of and take to work for 2-3 feedings a day.  A shopping trip was in order!

I got several Ziploc containers.  They have perfect 2 oz and 4 oz sizes.  I loaded them with Apple sauce, cottage cheese, Wendy's chili.  Keep easy to eat puree foods you know you can eat just in case your soft food option does not work for you.  Foods I could eat one day may not do well the next.  I have had to "cash out" a few times at work from one bite of something I was ok with the night before.

On the android I got a new app Pinterest.  And I searched for Bariatric Recipes and found a crestless pizza and boy was I dying for something a bit Italian.  It was simple enough to make.  The bottom was a mix of cream cheese, eggs and parmesan with spices.  You bake that and then put pizza toppings you like on top.  I made mine with a blended chicken and onion topping.  It got me through the entire week of work with few issues.

Chicken can be a bit rough.  Baked is iffy.  Sometimes its soft and juicy enough to get down.  Sometimes it gets hung up and you have to make a decision if your gonna tough it out or up.  I have found its just plain easier to get it up and get it over with.  Canned chicken has been perfect for me so far.

Its all trial and error.  One new thing at a time.   If I have something new I will make it the only new thing for the day and make sure I have lots of safe options on hand.  Slow and steady keeps their lunch down.

4 Weeks Post-Op Frustration!

Had my 4 week follow up and still having considerable pain from the upper left incision site.  I also feel very warm and sensitive around my abdomen.  So no work for 2 more weeks.  I am going stir crazy!  My DVR is out of shows.  I try to do my daily walks but this side pain gets worse when I do so I am taking it easy.

I am eating the same foods as before.  I did sneak into the fridge for a slice of cheese a couple times for a change of flavor.

Follow up with the doc today to discuss where I am.

FINALLY! Puree food here I come!

2 week post-op appointment went well.  My work is rather physical so I am out of work another 2 weeks.  Good news is... I got promoted to PUREE FOODS!  (Angels sing as the heavens open above!)

I gotta say, during pre-op I dreaded this stage cause I have never been a fan of puree consistency.  I thought the 2 weeks of liquid would be easy fresh out of surgery.  Boy did I have it backwards.    I have never been so happy to have mushy, sloppy, shapeless food in my life!

     Wendy's Chili!!!  Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy's for those that are not old enough to remember) has a special place in my heart.   During the informational classes for WLS our instructor raved about how awesome it was for the puree stage.  I am going to give her such a hug when I see here again!  I tried to make my own to have on tap at the house but it did not settle at all.  Instant discomfort.  I just could not get it mashed and chewed enough.  My husband made many many stops on the way home to get me a Large cup.

The nutritional value is 270 calories and 19g protein in a large cup.  Early on I could get almost 3 meals out of 1 large container.  By 4 weeks it was closer to 2 meals per large cup.

No rice, no oatmeal, no grits.  I was heartbroken.  I was looking forward to oatmeal.  These expand in your stomach.  Not pouch friendly.

Foods I used during this stage:

Protein frozen shakes - Recipes I found on Android app Body By Vi app on Google Play store.
WENDY'S CHILI - Love Love Love
Brunswick Stew  - This required some careful, thorough chewing as it can be a little thick and even found a couple small bones.  Restaurants in this area sell this by the pint.  Kings BBQ and Parker's BBQ.
Greek Yogurt
Cottage Cheese - Lots and lots of it
Jello - Great cooling sensation

I did not venture far during this stage.  I found what I could eat and stuck to it.  After the rough attempt to make my own chili I wanted to stay on the safe side.

Protein Shake.. you backstabber you

I finally got a handle on the water problem.  Some days I do better than others.  But for the most part I am doing pretty well with it.

At this point a new problem arose!  The protein powder is no longer my friend.  I had 4 flavors from the same brand and not a one was settling well.  I wont burden you with the brand name as I am sure most people will do just fine with it.  I tried different consistencies.  I tried adding spices and extracts.  Nothing worked.  Just the smell began to turn my stomach.  I tried another brand and within a day the same problem.  I just could not take it any more!  '

In the end I went to Sams Club and got Premier Protein shakes.  That would have been impossible! Premier shakes had been my morning breakfast during pre-op.  It was a little rough as you had to drink nearly twice the normal daily limit of the protein powder to get in the 60 grams you needed but it got me through the rest of the first 2 weeks.  Atkins shakes would have been the next step down but the protein per bottle is only 15g instead of the Premiers 30g and would have needed to drink 4 per day.

Water... my new nemisis

Fresh out of the hospital things seemed to be going real well.  I made a days worth of protein shakes in the morning using a powder and a shaker I acquired from my doctors office.  I prepped a huge tub of water and got situated on the couch for a marathon of Castle (never watched it before.  LOVE IT!).  I had my cell phone newly programmed to chime every 2 hours to remind me to get 2 oz of protein shake and it worked like a charm!

But towards the end of the day I realized my water cup was still nearly full!  I was never thirsty.  I never had a thought of that cup all day and it was within reach every moment!  I got in as much as I could for the rest of the day and went to bed swearing "Tomorrow I will do better!"

Next day came... same problem.  At this point I realize my.. um.. works were not producing and had not since before surgery.  This will not stand!

A new day.  A new approach!  Everything prepped for a day of relaxation, an extra shot of milk of magnesia for some added excitement and a new plan for the fight with H2O.  Just like the timer on my phone for the protein shakes I made a new one.  But this one was set to go off every 5 minutes.  *ring ring* Sip and when I got to within 30 minutes of my protein shot I set the timer to go off again an hour later since your not suppose to drink water 30 minute before and after the protein drink.

VICTORY IS MINE!

My first week post op was spent fine tuning this process.

Water Tips:

Use a timer to remind you to drink!  I hear it takes 30 days to learn a new habit but as little as 3 days to die of dehydration.  If the phone is too much to deal with, a simple egg timer would work well for helping you keep to a schedule.

Get a cup that is visibly measured!  I tried to use water bottles or regular cups but without seeing exactly what I took in I had no idea where I was for the day.  I got one that was measured every ounce for 32oz.  Halfway through the day if I had not finished that cup yet I knew I had lots of work to do for the rest of the day!

It starts...

So I went through the six month pre-op process required by my insurance.  I made sure to dot the i's and cross the t's. I squirreled away all the supplies I thought I needed, the protein powder in various flavors, different measuring devices, special mixer cups.  Over booked the DVR to record lots of reruns of shows I have wanted to check out.   Packed my hospital to go bag and went merrily on my way for Gastric Bypass.  

WOOHOO!   FINALLY!   I made it!  But wait...there's more!

Discomfort was as expected.   The rest of that day was spent alternating between napping, peeing, and walking.  Bright and early the next morning I had the swallow test.  This sounded scary to me.  I was envisioning alien abduction style probing but from the other end!  You stand while they take X-rays of you swallowing a liquid.  Took more time for them to prep the machine then to actually do the test. 

Successful swallow test meals time to start drinking protein shakes!   At first this was awesome!  My brain thought I was a few hamburgers short but my new stomach said NOT SO FAST!  A few sips and all thought of food was gone.  If it was not for the nursing staff asking if I was ready for the next serving I would not have eaten again.  That night I was feeling REAL full of myself and walked the floor unassisted.  (My husband decided to make a trip to town for real food and I didnt want to wait)  I made 4 trips around the department before retiring for the night.

Last day in the hospital.  So much pain.  I over did it the night before with my walk.   Other than that I was good to go!  Went home to my comfy couch and all my survival kit of varies WLS necessities.