My First Meal

Today was a great day.  I finally progressed from the liquid diet on to the next stage.  It is often referred to as the mushies stage althought crisp crakers and well-toasted bread are included in it.  I have looked forward to and dreamed about this day for I can't tell you how long.  Being on an all liquid diet sure was a test of my will.  It is also common for people to wonder "did my surgeon actually cut away the majority of my stomach?"  On liquids, you can consume more than you think you should be able to and more than you can of solids.  People talk about how little they can eat but I think they are referring to the amount of solids, not liquids.  I don't think those of us new in this process really realize that because it is not uncommon to see posts on the boards of people concerned that they can ingest so much liquid.  Others further along in the process respond with such responses as "just wait to you get to solids" and "it is normal to be able to ingest more liquids".  Anyway, as I said, I have dreamed of the day I finally got to have "my first meal".  Mostly I've dreamed about what I was going to eat.  Scrambled eggs and refried beans seem to be very popular first meal choices.  For me, I wanted something cruchy.  Oh, how I missed the crunch of a chip or cracker.  Its been 5 very long weeks since I had the crunch of a chip or cracker.  Anyway, I vascillated between having a scrambled egg or at least part of a scrambled egg and having one of my all time favorite "meals", cheese with pretzel chips.  Guess what won?  Yeah, this:

Well, not this exact slice of cheese and these exact three pretzel chips because I ate the originals.  I went into the kitchen to fix my first meal.  I stood there wondering how much could I eat.  I had absolutely no clue so I got out 2 slices of cheese and the bag of pretzel chips.  Surely I could eat 2 slices of chesse with pretzels, right?  Uh, no I couldn't.  When all was said and done, I only could eat 1 slice of cheese and 3 pretzel chips and I was stuffed.  Not miserable or sick.  Just stuffed  You would have thought I had just eaten a gourmet meal the way I enjoyed it.  Yeah, it was that yummy!  I ate it very slowly and chewed every bite to mush before swallowing it.  It is a little scary eating solid foods for the first time.  I don't want to overeat and be misearable nor do I want the slimes or to throw up.  Most of all though, I don't want to get a blockage.  Nothing happened though except that I got full and I felt a huge since of accomplishment.  It sounds kinda cheesy to say I felt a since of accomplishment at eating, but none-the-less, I did.

As I continue with this journey, I am still trying to determine the indication(s) my sleeve is giving me for being full.  Everyone is unique and there seems to be many different ways a sleeve has for saying that's enough.  I started noticing during the liquid phase of my diet that I would get this little pressure in the center of my chest between my breasts.  I wasn't sure if that was my signal that I'd had enough or it was just the way my sleeve was reacting to what I had ingested.  I would always stop at that feeling because of the fear of overdoing it and causing any of the issues I mentioned above.  When I ate my first meal, that all too familiar feeling came over me so I stopped and I was content for hours afterward.  For now, I'm going to take that as my signal that I've had enough and I need to stop.  I don't know that will always be my signal so I will continue to be very vigilant of how my body is feeling and of the signs it is giving me.  My goal is to never eat so much that I am nauseous, that I have to throw up, that I get the slimes or that I get a blockage.  

On another note, have you ever been asked what your favorite part of your body is.  I was thinking of that question and that, for the vast majority of people, the answers are some outward part of their appearance like their eyes or their arms, etc.  Ask a person post VSG what their favorite part of their body is and I betcha the vast majority of us would say "my sleeve".  Never in a million years would I have ever thought I would ever answer that question that way.  At least, not until after I had surgery anyway.  I spent a lot of money for this surgery and it is worth every penny.  Heck, maybe even more.  I love what my sleeve is doing for me and I will be forever greatful to Dr. Nicholson for "giving" me this gift.  Because of my sleeve, I am very optimistic for what lies ahead in my future.

~Amy