I’ve never had a major surgery before – the closest thing was when I got my wisdom teeth pulled – so I had no idea what to expect.  When you’re stuck at home recovering for 6 weeks, you watch A LOT of television and have plenty of time to think about things that you took for granted when you were up and about. Here are some things that I learned from my hysterectomy:

1. Ab muscles are used for EVERYTHING – so it’s important to strengthen your core muscles.  During my first week after surgery, any movement I made triggered that searing pain – whether it was simply re-positioning myself in bed (even a slight movement) to simply nudging my cup away from me on my nightstand with my fingers.  So now, I’ve been trying to incorporate ab exercises in my workouts.
2. Protein keeps you full.  My trainer gave me a meal plan to prepare for my surgery that’d clean out my colon. For the most part, I stuck with that meal plan, eliminated my in-between meal snacks and made sure I was eating a lot of protein and veggies which kept me full and regular.  I got protein from yogurt (plain Greek) in smoothies and chicken breast. Even though I skipped my snacks, I stayed full which surprised me so that’s something that I’ve stuck with
3. Fiber and water keeps your BM regular. The first time that I pooped, I literally sat on the toilet for ~45 minutes just to let one poop out. The reason why it took so long is because it hurt to push. After that terrible ordeal, I made sure to eat lots of high fiber veggies like kale, chard and spinach as well as add chia seeds to my morning oatmeal.  I also made sure to drink lots of water because it softens your stool, making your poop softer and easier to push out. I try to have BM at least 1-3 times a day (either 1 big one or 3 little “sessions”) which helps make you feel a lot lighter vs. feeling like you have a brick of something in your stomach.
4. Yoga is great for flexibility and strength. When I couldn’t exercise, I did yoga poses that didn’t involve any twisting or back bending, which would make my scar hurt.  I did a lot of modified poses, but found myself feeling really limber and strong which is especially important if you have a job where you sit at your computer a lot.  There’s no greater feeling than having a full range of motion after a good yoga session. Even a mere 15 minutes a day will really help – focus on hip opener, balance and downward dog poses.  Early on in my recovery, I did mostly sun and earth salutations.
5. Making your own meals and snacks helps keeps weight down. A few months before my operation, I got a new stove. It wasn’t until my recovery time that I started to use it more by making my own meals and snacks.  I love looking for healthier ways to make my favorite foods and thought I’d start cooking for myself, which was really eye-opening. When you cook your own food, you realize how much sugar, salt and/or oil it takes to make food taste like what you’re used to!  Now I try to find natural ways to make things taste better like adding dates or honey to sweeten things, and I’m still experimenting. But one thing I noticed is that when I ate out less and exercised regularly (cardio and weight training), my weight went down even though I was actually eating more food!