You actually sound like you are doing pretty well!
New normal.  Yes.  As for food you have to experiment.
I prefer just liquid bm.  It's not all the time but I don't use anything to thicken.  If I do it feels like I am pushing out cement so everyone is different.  I lost alot of weight myself which is miserable... I lost 50 and have only gained half that back but at 12 months I was no where near where u are.  18 months now and I am not here  u are.  Took me longer. 
Like I said you have to experiment with what foods work for you.  I tried bananas.... Apple sauce... All the thickening foods and they made it worse for me.
I found with me that eating a few slices of apples helps with anything I eat.  Took a long time to figure that one out.  But it works well for me.
You sound like you are  doing good.  I go 6-8 times a day.  But that differs.  I only went 4 times yesterday.  I love those days. 
Good luck to you!
Richard.

My B.M.s are always liquidy and I prefer them to be that way.  Easier/faster to empty!  As long as I have control.....and I do.......liquid B.M.s work for me.  My surgeon suggested I take Citrucel once a day.  Years ago, I took Metamucil and liked it.  Apparently, Citrucel causes less gas.  I try to remember to take it but don't always do so.  Oh, well!

I, too, have always preferred a looser stool. I tried Metamucil in the beginning, just because they told me to, but a few doses and I was like, nope. Never really needed it. 

 

I think overall you sound pretty normal For 1 year. 

 

Not eating in the day, IMO, is not doing you any good.  My surgeon wanted me to try to defer going, so the pouch could stretch to hold more. Keeping it empty sounds counterintuitive to me, but I suppose you have to pick your poison. My pouch is an old lady comparatively.  Today, I went, oh... 5 times since 5am (workday), but if I wasn't working, probably would have been 4, as I would have slept longer. Usually it's 4-6x, but it *can* be as low as 3. I never "counted," still really don't, but for me there's no urgency, unless I push it far, and even then it's not like diarrhea urgency. I just get puffy bloaty feeling, and I make more noises.  I rarely wake up to go at night, and sleep 7-8 hours/night. 

 

My transit time these days vary widely.  Some meals can be 6 hours, some up to even 12 hours. Believe it or not, I sometimes have issues being too thick or too slow!  I actually take 1/2-1 magnesium tab/day to stay "looser."  Might seem crazy to someone with a new pouch, but my pouch has occasionally had issues being "too" efficient at absorbing water!

Hi,

 

Thank you all for the responses. It seems to me I'm sort of where I probably should be at this stage. The Metamucil works for me, the stool isn't firm, but not liquid, I guess the consistency of a loose yogurt (apologies for the graphic description)  and certainly always orange.  If I leave it to the liquid state, I get burning so keeping it at the looser, but not liquid, consistency works for me. It vacates without issue. 

 

Again, thanks for the responses, makes me feel, well, normal

I just wanted to comment that this post has really helped me. I had my takedown May 1st. Did well and was discharged after 5 days. 7 days later admitted for horrible abdominal pain. Was really sick with ng tube, found an abscess with small fistula. Stayed 8 more days. Had drain for another 3 weeks.

So I was told by my ostomy nurse to not rush to the restroom, wait it out as long as I could. That helps stretch the pouch and keep the urgency down. I've never we had an accident or really needed to rush. I know it's still very early, my cramping is really lessened and I'm only going 5/6 times usually. Sometimes more/less. But sometimes I get pressure/pain rectally, or strong belly pain sometimes it stop me in my tracks. Can this still be normal?? And will it eventually go away?
Thanks so much to everyone in this post for all your great advice.