Soft Foods are GREAT!

I'm officially onto soft foods now and let me say, it's wonderful! You get full very quickly but just with everything, you need to take it oh so slow so you don't get 'fake full'. That's what I call when I eat too fast and it backs up and only makes me think I'm full. When really after it passes, I've only had 2 bites of taco meat. Oh yeah - and to drag it out 15-30 minutes. That's one I'm still working on. Baby steps... I'm down 11 pounds as of yesterday. Water is still a challenge for me and protein of course. Now that I can have moist meat, it's getting easier but over all it's taking a lot of work!! I don't notice any differences on my body yet but my mom said she can see it in my face. Anyway, happy Memorial day! Enjoy the day!! Jessica Dr. Chute/lap rny 5/17/04 300/289

Good for you, Jessica! 11 pounds is nothing to sneeze at, especially in such a short time. I know just what you mean about the fake full feeling. I just had breakfast at 9 and it too****il 10:30 for the truly full feeling to hit bottom, although most times so far it takes about half an hour to feel full. My girlfriend said she can see the weight I have lost already in my SHOULDERS! Skinnier shoulders? Who knew? I laughed until my side ached (a little WLS humor!). LOL! Keep up the great work! Nancy Sister Bay, WI

Hi, Nancy. I had my surgery on 5/19,too. How are you getting along? I started the pureed stage of my eating just yesterday. I now have more variety to choose and that makes me happy. I have 18 days of this and then on to soft foods. It's amazing how many variations you see on the food issue. Someone out a week eating soft foods- not through St. Vincent's in Cleveland! There are as many variations as there are doctors doing the surgery. What are you eating now? I had the open so I am still changing a dressing and wearing a binder,but it's a small price to pay. I am just getting a little bit past the "What did I do???!!! stage. Every day is a new day and so far a better day than the one before. I hope your journey continues with great success. Kim

Dear Kim, I agree, Jessica, the range of post op instructions is staggering. My surgeons have this protocol: nothing by mouth until the morning following surgery and an Upper GI to test for leaks. Then, if all is well, clear liquids. If those are tolerated well, pureed foods follow, often on the same day. Then 4-6 weeks of pureed foods to allow your pouch time to heal. Then gradually add soft foods, one at a time, to see what works and what doesn't. I am at the end of the 2nd week and so far pureed foods are fine with me. We'll see how I feel by the end of week 4 - perhaps I will be following the suggested 4 weeks instead of the 6 weeks of pureed foods. LOL - who knows! I like your signature. I am still squeamish about most folks knowing how much I have weighed - isn't that silly? It's not like the weight is hidden somewhere safely out of sight and they can't tell, right? So here goes my new (gulp) signature: Nancy Drs Garren and Gould 5/19/04 304/287 Keep on losing!!!

What are you doing for pureed foods? I am having a hard time. Any help would be appreciated.

I went and bought me some canned fruits, Peaches taste the best to me and I then blended it with plain yogurt. I froze some for my replacement for ice cream and then just drank some kinda like a smoothie. you just might like that one. You just gotta be creative. Keep up the good work

What I am doing is pretty simple. Prepared soups, like the serloin veggie soup from Campbells is really high in protein and vitamins, but low in fat and calories - and a pureed can lasts for 2 meals. Otherwise, if I eat out I may bring a lowfat yogurt, a soft banana to mash, or pears, which kind of melt in your mouth (or pureed). At home I may take a piece of meat loaf (I freeze the rest as I live with a picky vegetarian), and some veggies and puree it for dinner. I also get restaurant leftovers - a local Mexican restuarant will blend a whole quesadilla with some beef broth (tortilla and all!) for me, which leaves me with 2 meals to take home in a cup. Or the white fish chowder they blend for me at another restaurant. For breakfast I have blended a toaster waffle with some sugarfree syrup - with a spray of I Can't Believe its not Butter - yum! Or a soft scrambled egg, made even more protein rich with some cottage cheese, melted farmers cheese, 1/4 cup skim milk, and perhaps some veggies. I cook it in the microwave until it is just soft scrambled. That's realy good and filling too. Once when I ate at Culvers (they cannot puree anything - they just don't have the kitchen equipment) I had an order of mashed potatoes with their cream soup. The nuked the soup a bit extra so the veggies were really soft. I can eat all the veggies except corn and woody asparagus; they are just too hard to eat. I just keep checking the fat content and the protein content - you know a really good source of calories and protein counts that is worth buying is Dr. Phil's "The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide" as it actually lists the foods that are worth the calories and those that are not. A good source for food values, fast foods too. Hope this helps. Nancy