Starting Regular Food

When you were able to start regular food, what have you been eating?

I have been eating a lot of seafood shrimp, fish, crabmeat, and tuna. When I cant get anything else down I can eat a nacho or beans.

Kat; I'm not sure what you mean by regular food, so I'm going to assume you mean non-liquids, non-softs. I started on boneless, skinless chicken breast 18 days post op. I could only eat about an ounce and I had to chew it to death, but I could keep it down. I tried it because I couldn't get a special meal ordered for my work holiday party and I didn't want to bring my own food or not eat with everyone else. I've been eating cheese enchiladas and chicken just about every day. The only things that have made me sick recently is some almonds last Friday - I think my pouch was full; and a filet mignon last Saturday. It's just too soon for red meat at this point. I will say, I wasn't afraid to vomit, so I tried a lot of things. A lot of things went very smoothly, but I spent plenty of time staring into the toilet. Good luck. If you'd like more information, please feel free to email me. Best, Jennifer

Jennifer, YEs, I was talking about non-liquids, non-softs food. Cheese enchilades that you make? Have you been to a restaurant since you had your surgery? I wanted to try mexican but I wasn't sure if I could. I had by surgery on November 15. But then again, MExican food is probably high caloric.

Kat; I've been going to restaurants since 5 days post-op. Early on, I was eating soup everywhere. There's a little restaurant near my office that lets me order a kids cheese enchilada meal. It consists of one cheese enchilada, 2 oz. beans, 2 oz. rice and a drink ****d tea for me) for $3.23. I eat the beans and no more than 1/2 of the enchilada. Mexican is higher in calories, but it's still a whole lot less than I was eating pre-op, so I don't worry about it. I'm down 41 lbs. in 8 weeks and I'm satisfied with that. Maybe it could be more, but no one can say for sure. Best, Jennifer 253 / 212 / ???

I dont think...at this point high caloric...would be the issue...because how much does your pouch hold??? Not too much here..I can eat 1 taco...no problem...but am stuffed(sometimes less like 3/4of one) cheese also is a good protein source huggs kristi

i been eating alot of cheese and egg salad. but up til today i been having trouble keeping food down. today i had a scope and found out i was getting a stricture. so maybe now ill have a better time with solids. i did have good luck with some prime rib but it was only a few small tiny bites. but it settled well. good luck and try 1 thing at a time so if u have a problem u will know what it was from. lisa

Kat, Technically I haven't been released to eat regular food yet (11/29 surgery and going to Dr Monday.) I did try some chicken Thursday night (roasted, thigh meat, since that's the most moist) and it stayed down fine. I just chewed thoroughly. Last night I had chinese for the first time. I chose Moo Goo Gai Pan which is chicken and veggies in a mild white sauce, very little fat. I couldn't each much, but it was nice. I've also had a few of my hubby's fries from Wendy's when they were fresh and not too greasy! Other than those WILD ADVENTURES off my designated Dr. diet, I eat fish (salmon and talipia,) shaved ham and turkey from the deli (1-2oz at a time) low fat cheese, mac-n-cheese made with skim milk, fat-free yogurt and fat-free yogurt smoothies, fat-free refried beans with cheese, mashed/baked potatoes with light sour cream and cheese, thinned out Kashi Go Lean oat meal with a few blueberries, crab/tuna/chicken salads with low fat crackers. I was eating mushy rice krispies and corn flakes for a while, but got sick of them and wanted to focus more on protein laden foods. So far, I haven't gotten sick or had a bad reaction to anything I've eaten. I do try to eat very slooooow, moist food, and chew thoroughly, so I think that has helped with my success. I even tried a small bite of pecan pie about 4 weeks out and didn't have a reaction. I did have a mild dumping episode when a guy at Starbucks put regular sugar and flavoring in my coffee instead of the equal and sugar-free versions, but I realized it before I had too much and just got a little flushed which lasted about 10 minutes. At 43 days I had lost 43 pounds. I'll be back to see my Dr Monday with a weight update. I'm also looking foward to diet updates!!!! Good luck everyone! Tammy

I have found that minestrone soup works well, and really any pasta with cheese or marinara sauce. I also eat a lot of cottage cheese and scrambled eggs. I found Orowheat bread that is low carbs and has 5 g of protein per slice and the slices are small, so it is perfect! A great breakfast is scrambled egg w/a little shredded cheese on one slice of this bread is very satisfying (but I can't finish all of it!) and is 17g of protein total. Restaurants have been easy too as long as I stick to pasta or soup. Have tried chicken, but it must be VERY moist, or it gets stuck. Fish is good too. When I can, I try to order off the kids menu, helps that I have a 9mo son, who I say the food is for . Mostly I have found that if it is moist and/or soft, it will go down pretty well. Dry meat does not work. --Dana

I was eating the regular modified diet close to a month out. I'm sick of eggs, so breakfast has been hard for me. I started taking a Light Mini Babybel piece of cheese to work every day for breakfast. Then I finally realized that it's just stupid of me to try to "stick to breakfast foods" if I just can't stand them. I mean, who cares what I eat at any specific time of day? LOL So I've been having veggie burgers w/cheese for breakfast and they really satisfy me. I work, so I usually pack my lunch each day. I enjoy FF refried beans w/cheese, chili w/cheese, tuna salad w/a couple crackers, chicken salad, deli meats and cheese rolled up, and a couple small meatballs on occasion. For dinner I try to get a little more creative. I'm so sick of chicken & turkey. I like to cut up meatball and mix it with ricotta, spinach, and tomato sauce. I then season w/salt, pepper, garlic and nuke until warm. It's delicious. I've also gotten into fish lately. I picked up some healthy grilled frozen fish (Gorton's I think) to try this week. I stay away from pasta because that's how this weight came on in the first place and they are white carbs (doc said avoid!****asionally I have a tbsp of mashed potato with a meal, but never as a meal. I try my best to make protein the main portion of my meal and if I have any room left it's for a tbsp or 2 of veggies. Occasionally I like a Light Thomas' Healthy Grain english muffin (only half) with tomato sauce and melted cheese. I also like to nuke up slices of pepperoni to have with a nice dip or guacamole when I want a chip alternative. I'm always looking for new things to try that are mostly protein. ~ Kim 309/262/130