2 weeks out from surgery

Hi. I haven't posted here before but appreciate the good support and advice that people provide. I had my surgery 2 weeks ago yesterday. Everything seems to be going fine; pain is pretty mild at this point and I'm up and around as I should be. I know it's probably time to go from the 2-week phase 2 diet to the 2-month phase 3. Any advice? Last night I had a 1/2 veggie burger w/some low-sugar baked beans. It settled with me fine, though I'm a bit nauseated this morning. Is the phase 2--phase 3 a gradual process or should I go completely to a "soft food" approach? What have people found to be easy on the system in phase 3? I think the hardest for me has been getting enough protein everyday, maybe because the phase 2 options quickly became hard to even look at, let alone eat (well...drink)!. Suggestions for getting better at this? Thanks!

hi. I found out about a protein drink made by Nature's Best called Isopure. My nurse recommened it because it has 40g in one bottle. I haven't gotten it yet but heard that Alpine Punch is the best flavor. there's also a website, Naturesbest.com hope that helps

Hi Susan ... I'm one week and a day since surgery and my doctor has me on liquids for another two weeks. SlimFast has a new line of drinks out called Carb Formula. They taste really good and have 20g of protein, 6g of carbs and this is within the guidelines I was given for protein drinks. Also, Unjury (go online) has unflavored protein powder. I was given a bunch of samples when I left the hospital. You stir it in soup and can't even taste it. I'm having no problem getting 50-60g of protein per day with these two items. Also, I put Special K drink powder in my water. That will give you 6g of Protein. Good luck!

Thanks, you two, for responding! I've been drinking Myoplex, which has a lot of protein per 4 oz., but it just gets hard...I'll see if I can get my hands on some unjury. I wonder why the difference between when people are told to go from liquids to soft foods? I seem to be handling the soft foods fine. Today I had 1/2 cup of cottage cheese--not blended! Does anyone know if there's a "hard and fast" rule on the liquid vs. soft phase? I just know that the nutrition prep program I went through said to transition to soft foods after week 2.

Between the yogurt, the cottage cheese, ground meats, tuna salad, and the protein drinks, I haven't seemed to have a problem getting enough protein either. I've started using liquid Centrum vitamins and I just put that in the protein shake along with the calcium. It's an easy way to cover those bases. It's funny to see the different things that people are eating. I'm three weeks out now and on a soft diet. Mashed potatoes 1/4 cup is a delicious treat! Baked beans have good protein and stay down well too. I had a little trouble with deli roast beef. Even though it was thinly sliced and very tender, it balled up in my pouch and caused considerable distress until I tossed it...a little ball about the size of a medium olive. Cottage cheese with pineapple in it is a staple because it always feels good and a 1/2 cup portion is very satisfying and soft enough that there's no discomfort. I'm very interested in what everyone is eating and how you are dealing with the back-of-the-mind fear of somehow sabotaging even this (wonderful surgery that is a life-altering decision.)

Liquids and extremely soft foods are best on a new pouch sewn together with 3 rows of titanium staples. If you do to much you don't want to pop a stable line and encourage leaks. Also your stomach is raw around the staple line and where your small intestines have been sewn into your new pouch opening. This is all raw healing tissue that is trying to heal and hopefully heal together. Some people end up with scare tissue later around the opening from your stomach and into the intestines and it has to be stretched. I would suggest that you be extremely careful what you ingest dispite what your head thinks. Remember alot of nerves have also been cut, hence for some no real hunger even though things smell good, or you will notice things taste extremely different. While these nerve ends are cut and take months to heal and reconnect it is very hard to judge sometimes when you are full so you may ingest something that may not be good for you in the long run. I had my surgery last june...2 weeks out I sucked on the inside of a cucumber marinated in vinegar. Imagen pouring vinegar over a open wound. I tried wine months later and it also burned. This is a newly surgically formed baby size/Walnut size pouch, I can't comprehend surgins who turn loose patients to eat pretty much what they can stomach. My surgen practices under the Man who started this RNY in the 60's in Greenville NC and we are on liquids two weeks out, than soft foods like yogart, soft scramble eggs, cottage cheese, refried beans and such for the next 2 weeks than adding in fish, than soft chick and finally beef over 6 to 8 weeks. It's not hard since your really not hungery, just boring.

Thanks for that thorough and helpful information. The diet your surgeon practices sounds just like the one I am on. As for what I'm eating (someone asked what everyone was eating...) a scrambled egg w/ cheese was great; oatmeal; peas with milk and a bit of butter; cottage cheese (the superfood!), shakes; ... Maybe the thing that I've liked most are carefully chewed Morningstar Garden burgers--mainly because they have 10g protein and 2 vegetable servings all at once. 1-2 a day contribute significantly to my nutritional needs. But based on what you say, Lynn, I may need to reconsider these. I have my post-op on Tuesday and my nutritionist and surgeon will be there--I'll see what they have to say.

That was a great post, and helped a lot. I concur with this business about things tasting different. I was really looking forward to a little crab cake that the nutritionist recommended and dang if one of my favorite foods hadn't changed in taste for me to the point where I couldn't take a bite. The smell and taste were just very unappetizing. Farewell Baltimore. At the same time, the very lean sausage my butcher makes is a tasty breakfast. One. Not even one and a half. One tiny breakfast sausage and that's it. A bite more would be just too much. I think there is a relationship between the density of food and how much of it we can eat. For example, I can eat more yogurt than I can cottage cheese or beans, and with the sausage, barely anything. And still no hunger, nor desire. Just how cool is that!

Meats, steam veggies (not to mush) are very dense. When they say protein ALWAYS first this is one of the reasons why. Dense foods fill up your pouch and take longer to digest and keep you full longer. Also this is where your protein, the stuff that helps you heal, get energy and feed your body comes from. While yogart, protein drinks are good for you they can be considered slider foods. Example: take a zip lock baggey and file it with a protein drink or yogart and put a pencil size hole in it and squeeze. Next grind up some meat or chew(this is best) and do the same thing. Your intestional opening from your stomach newly out is not much larger. Meat stays with you longer. My doctor does not recommend protein drinks after a month out. He says it is important to learn to eat your protein and come back to certain foods that may have made your pouch upset. I do shoot protein bullets to help up my protein when I need it. But a year out you will find you can eat about anything and your taste budds do come back when those nerves heal. Which isn't a good thing LOL!!!! Now slidder foods will also be considered foods well chewed, fat based or that will melt and 80 percent of the time things you don't want to let back in Example: Potato chips (yep you'll start with just 3 and if they don't make you dump they'll start adding up**** cream (even low sugar or sugar free has calories), regular yogarts, regular coffee cream flavored or unflavored, mash potatoes, salads and dressings (pile it up with eggs and meats with a little dressing and go for that first next the lettuce), cream soups. Veggies cooked in fat or grease, southern style! Basically if you shouldn't have it, it's going to be a slider food. Something that slips in and slips right out and doesn't leave you feeling full. Now crackers and pretzels can fill you up but there is almost no nutrion value for us here. Watch Fatty meats!! Barilla Plus pastas in the gold box has 10 grams of protein and the good omega fats. It is denser than regular pastas but it taste good. Some folks are talking about the miricale noodle, no fat, almost no calories and alot of protein. This is a tofu noodle and can be ordered online or found in Asian markets. Tofu picks up the taste of flavors. There are different brands so check out the contents and protein and carbs of the brand you look at. Just remember slider foods and yes protein drinks most times will leave you hungry and wanting more so remember to try to eat solid proteins or softer ones like eggs cheese, cottage cheese( depends on the curd size). The key is how well you chew and the time it takes your stomach to like it. Nothing about this surgery is easy, it hurts, it's boring and can be a real tear jerker and some people have the nerve to say we took the easy way out. We know better they are just ignorant but we will forgive them. Follow the rules gang, get those toddler, spoons and forks and small pudding or dipping bowls, not a soup one. Keep measuring your food even months out don't get into the habit of eyeing it than taking just another bite. Off course you can't do it eating out and you have to judge. BE SCARED to taste the forbidden foods, like sweets and chips cause they may not make you sick and that will be a real issue down the road. Read the Graduate board and ask them questions like what they would of done different and what things sneaked in to watch for. They will be honest. And lastly you have got to committ to some form of life long exercise!!! I have been stuck for almost 3 months now and it is my own fault on top of being a year out. My doctor told me the honey moom phase is 6 months and from than out I will loose alittle at a time but my commitment to life style change will decide how much more I will loose or gain. So I guess you can figure I stopped walking and we all know what I need to do. Wheather or not I don't need to loose more, I would like to, I do have a very saggy butt, invision 2 sharpee' puppys side by side, all I need is a tatoo eyeball on each cheek!! Not to mention very saggy upper arms. Good Luck everyone! And follow the rules, try not to cheat but you will but fight it and owe up to it espically to your doctor.

Hi the isopure is fine fruitpunch is nasty to me i found if you get the same flavor isopure as jello if you use one part isopure and one par****er in two boxes of sugar free jello u cant even taste the isopure the jello is a bit thicker and fills u up Also after i ate anything i got sick to my stomach its normal it will get better i am 6 weeks post op and 43 lbs lighter I cant find any food to eat it all taste nasty to me so i ea****ermelon all the time and any fruit i can eat without the skin