2 Weeks 3 Days out Advanced to "Soft Food" but worried!!

[JeanethReinoso]

I was advanced to Stage II in my dr.s regimen and I am afraid that I wont be able to meet my goals! I was barely able to get the minimum amount of fluids in throughout the day as well as protein and im afraid that I am just going to fail with the soft foods! My Nut told me to try super cooked and soft foods and after a few small bites I feel stuck and in sometimes a lot of pain! A uncomfortable feeling that makes me want to take a sip of water but I was told not to drink for an hour after eating
I need help! A lot of you have been in my shoes (2 weeks out) at one point or another .... what did you eat, drink, and how were you able to get in all your protein?

I am scared that if I I don't get all my fluids and proteins in I wont loose the weight I should and fail with this wonderful tool ive been given!

Also how did you keep yourself from trying foods you know your not supposed to have? cooking for my family I sometimes get the urge to take a small bite of the food that my kids leave on their plate and it feels like torture not too ...

I confess I do sometimes take a bite chew the crap out of it and spit it out in the garbage like a anorexic person but I just cant help it! It smells so0o0o good and I feel like its going to waste.. but then I think of myself as the human garbage disposal, I guess in reality that's what I was.. instead of letting food go to waste I would eat the leftovers on my kids plates even though I would never really sit down with my own plate :/

These past 2 weeks have been tough and ive been trying to get on some kind of track but being an at home mom with kids around me all day having to cook and make meals for 6 kids a day and having to smell those wonderful smells is killing me ...
not being able to constantly sip like im supposed to is also bothering me..
everyday I wake up and say today I am going to do everything correctly, I will get in all my liquids, and all my protein but by lunch time that plan is out the door

even with my phone as my alarm clock I just cant stomach a whole protein shake for breakfast and lunch and sure as heck not for dinner!

what to do what to do!

I expressed all these thoughts and feelings yesterday to my nutritionist and she just told me I was doing ok and to keep trying .. REALLY? Not much help! Praying the next few weeks get better but the way im feeling now im not so sure!

[Marvinator]

Two weeks and a half and you are progressing to soft foods already? Seems premature. I stayed full liquids till week 4 then progressed to pureed for a few weeks before progressing to soft foods and some doctors recommend going at an even slower pace. Honestly, unless you just cant wait, I think its much safer to err on the side of caution and take your time advancing to each stage. Why chance causing yourself discomfort or harm just to progress through the stages a little faster? You have your whole life to eat normal again and enjoy the weight loss in the early stages and right now you can take it slow without being hungry. Your hunger will come back soon enough.

[Suega]

First take a big breath and remember your body is going through a lot and healing. Maybe you should consider believing what your NUT said about your progress but also keep focused and keep trying. She could be right. I am 5 weeks post op and my fluids are not going well either and it did take me a little time to find what works for me. Just last week I could finally drink a whole shake in a couple of hours and feel ok about it. But water is hard, I still only get 20oz in day, but I am working on it!

So some suggestions for you that worked for me:
1) Milk! Milk is my go to drink and I love it! I drink 3 10oz glasses of Milk a day. For some reason I can get this down no problem. This will help with your protein intake and fluids.
2) Add fruit & yogurt to your protein shakes. I usually do one in the morning. To help me get over the awful taste of the protein I had to add some yogurt and strawberries. This is very good! My NUT said where this is not ideal if its helping you get protein and fluids keep doing it.
3) SF Popicles- I have this after my dinner and it does count as fluid. You can also try crushed ice.
4) Jello!
5) Cottage Cheese w/ Milk: This was my other go to meal, when I just could'nt eat soft foods. I added milk so it would go down a little smoother. ONce I could I removed the milk.
6) I also felt food got stuck sometimes and I would take a really small sip of water to help. Again not prefered by my NUT but she said if something was struck to do it but really small sips.
7) Try going back to pureed foods for a while. Maybe your stomach needs more time.

Like you I also discussed my concerns about fluids and NUT told me if I drank my 20oz of water and my milk 30oz, that I would be ok and wouldn't get dehyradted and by no mean drink less than this. Remember things will improve and all of this will get easier, your body/ stomach is healing. Everyday I see improvement in what I drink and I have no doubt you'll see it to. Be paitent and just keep working on it, you'll get there!

Good Luck!

[julrs13]

Hi again, I just started being able to drink more than tiny sips today. I noticed it this morning, that I didn't get that soar feeling. I think the stomach stays swollen for quite some time and having to go back to work and take care of so many kids would lengthen your healing time I am sure. I made some salmon salad today and it really got stuck after the first couple of bites. I did take a sip of water and waited about 20 min and was able to finish it. I had to really mash it up though. I have not been able to eat eggs at all. I think this is a good time to figure out what food intolerances we have too. I have found that adding regular milk to my shakes makes me very sick. If I use soy milk, all is well. Yesterday I made a pureed chicken salad and was able to get away with only 1 protein shake because there was 24gm protein in the chicken I used. I mixed with a little lite mayo and it was pretty good. I you ate that twice a day you could skip the shakes or just have 1 shake. I have to put a 1/2 banana or frozen peaches in my shakes and mix them really good. I added cinnamon to my shake today and it was really good too. Anything to take away the protein taste. It takes me at least an hour or 2 to drink a 12oz shake. I don't think you are unusual. You just need to puree your food in a blender and it will go down easy. It is only for a couple of weeks, I know it is a mess, but you need to take care of yourself too. I was also going to tell you I never eat anything until I have been up for 2-3 hours. I don't know why, but I am just not hungry. I also drink crystal lite and it goes down so much easier than water, yuck! Let me know if you need anymore suggestions. When you get you unflavored protein add it to some of the lite Progresso soups, I did that for lunch and it was really good. I nice warm smooth high protein soup drink. I used to hate soup! Now it is quite soothing.

[Marvinator]

It always surprises me to hear people say they hate the protein shakes. I think thats my favorite meal all day. I use Chocolate Whey from Syntrax and mix in PB2 and use almond milk. Yum. I look forward to it during the day. It goes down easier than solid food does. And I can add fresh fruit to it too.

[JeanethReinoso]

I really wish I could say that because I DESPISE IT! And maybe if I liked chocolate maybe that would be the case ive seen that recipe a lot! But I myself cant and wont eat chocolate I dislike it so much I tell people that I am allergic to it!!

[Chief Rob]

I use the body fortress protein shakes. I get the powder from Walmart and it cost $17 for the jug of powder. I use the Choc Peanut butter with skim. I put some ice and PB in the blender and its amazing. I know your not supposed to but sometime ill throw in 1/2 of a frozen banana too.

I am 2 weeks out also and its tough. I wont progress to puree foods until next Tuesday. Just stay focused. Think of it as 1 tough month out of your lifetime. also think of all the other consequences you could have faced if you didn't have this surgery. I do that every time I pass a Pizza place... Just not worth it to me anymore. Stay strong your doing great!

[JeanethReinoso]

i just ordered a unflavored powder from the vitamin shoppe and it is supposed to be delivered today before the end of the day. I ran this recipe by my nutritionist and she said it was fine and i told her that i would double up on the protein in each shake i make so that i get the 50-60 that she wants me to get! So i plan on sipping this throughout the day for the next few days and see how that goes for breakfast and lunch and then possibly trying a scambled egg for dinner. Hoping that i can tolerate this as I am so close to just going out and buying those protein shots to make sure i get the protein i need!!
1/2 Cup non-fat milk
1/4 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
2 packets of equal
1/2 of a banana
and I add ice as needed usually about a cup of ice sometimes a lil more to make it slushy which I don't think is a problem because it adds more liquids
she told me to substitute the nonfat milk for unsweetened almond milk!

[g5x5]

A crappy as it will feel after two weeks.... go to eating Albacore tuna out of 3 ounce cans or pouches (get the 4.6 ounce ones but only eat 3 ounces). Eat 3x a day plus eggs for breakfast. You'll get all the protein you need.

This will get the job done, just remember that is all that is important and this is only two weeks. However, after two weeks of this I doubt you'll eat tuna fish from cans or pouches ever again. At that point shift to fresh fish and you'll get just as much protein and it'll taste a billion times better.