Quarantine is Over! Plus Some Fun Facts About Phase 3

Hurrah! Yesterday was my last day of self-isolating! I've had no symptoms, so my calculated risk of traveling through US airports during covid-19 was a good one. I promptly cashed in my rain checks for hugs and kisses, and moved back into our bedroom.

I also used the occasion to dismantle my alternative workspace downstairs and move back to my home office. We set up the kitchen workspace to encourage better habits during the liquid diets, before and after surgery. I'll have to be more vigilant about drinking water than I've been in the past, but I think I can do it.

The pureed food diet is going really well. I sometimes feel a bit burdened or discouraged when I'm starting the food prep -- then I do it and it's no big deal. I'm aiming for making three or four pureed foods at a time, and putting the pre-measured portions in a muffin tin. So far I've done:
- canned tuna, made with greek yogurt, dijon mustard, and pickle relish
- canned salmon, made with greek yogurt, red-wine vinegar, and dijon mustard
- tofu, garlic, ginger, and a touch of sodium-reduced soy sauce

Each one is pureed in the food processor with some protein powder, one teaspoon per serving.

For the tofu, I cooked the garlic and ginger in a little olive oil, added the tofu and soy sauce, cooked that for a while, then transferred it to the food processor. It had the thick texture of hummus, and was very tasty.

I'm also going to try:
- chicken and low-fat ricotta puree
- lentil soup puree
- white bean and ricotta puree

Here's an example of what I'm eating in the course of a day:
- smoothie made with 16 ounces of dairy milk, 1 cup of frozen fruit, and 1 scoop of protein powder (in 3 or 4 portions throughout the morning)
- can of tuna, pureed, protein powder added (broken up into 3-4 portions)
- jar of baby food fruit or vegetable
- very small portion of soft cheese, such as Laughing Cow Lite
- water, herbal tea, V8

I had a weird feeling that I was eating too much. WRD asked me to scan a few pages of my food diary, so she could calculate approximate daily calories. It turns out I'm eating too little, or at least the very low end of the suggested intake for this phase. Very strange!

Eating slowly is a big challenge, especially pureed food! I'm working on it, one muffin cup at a time. 

Hopefully this is not TMI: for years my ankles and feet have been (seemingly) permanently swollen. I take a diuretic for blood pressure, and I eat a lower-sodium diet, but puffy ankles and feet have been the reality. This is suddenly gone. I was putting on my socks and lo and behold, thin ankles with an actual shape, and smaller feet! 

I will ask WRD about this, but I'm guessing it's from not eating in restaurants (or take-out). I use very little salt when I cook, and we don't even keep salt on the table, but I was eating take-out two or three times each week. Perhaps that, plus a big increase in water intake, has given me back my thin ankles.

I'm still talking myself out of getting on the scale. As we get closer to our planned December 1 weigh-in, this will become more difficult to do!