cheese? two weeks out

When can i add cheese to my diet? I can't eat most things they want me to right now without a little cheese. And I would love to eat some string cheese to add protein. What is your experience/ advice

Hi Matt, I would check the paper work you should have gotten with the lists of foods and when to start them. You are only a few weeks out and need to take things slow. It is most important to get your fluids in. Are you able to tolerate protien drinks? At your stage it will be difficult to get in enough regular food and get adequate protien in. Remember you have a little pouch and it will fill up with just a few spoonfuls, maybe one  ounce worths. That is normal. You need to take in protien for energy and for healing and to prevent loss of muscle as you lose weight.

You can mix unflavored protien powder into foods to help you get enough in. Have you tried sugar free puddings, egg custard, chicken broth in addition to the other foods you mentioned like cottage cheese, soups, eggs. When you are allowed poultry I might suggest ground turkey crumbled and cooked and then add a small amount of gravy for moisture. It is much better tolerated. As you start to introduce different foods (per your surgeons plan) it is all trial and error. You may find you cannot tolerate some things, so don't have them now and wait and try and introduce them into your diet at a later time. Also remember to chew, chew , chew your food and not to drink 30 minutes before or 30 minutes or so after eating to keep yourself full longer. It is like a full time job in  the first weeks past surgery just sipping and sipping to get enough fluids in and then waiting and eating and waiting and sipping again.

Things will get easier, be carefull with hard cheeses when  you do start them they can be constipating and can have high fat content. The best protiens in the long run, when  you can  have them are lean meat, poultry and fish then vegetable protiens like beans, they will keep you full longer too.

All the best

 

Sher

When I hit the mushies I was eating low fat string cheese. Good luck Matt.

Like Kathy, I was also eating string cheese when I started the mushies....just remember bc it is not mushy, to chew, chew, chew....this I cannot stress enough.  I've gotten something "stuck" before from not chewing thoroughly and it hurts like hell.

At two weeks out, you should still be on pureed foods...soft mushies...probably ricotta or cottage cheese right now is best. Didn't Dr Barba give you a post op food plan with list of things to eat at this stage? If you're on full food, if you do try string cheese, make sure they are in pencil eraser sized pieces and you chew, chew, chew them to mush...All of your hard foods should be done this way. Paula

I did get a list but I notice some mention having cheese early on and I never noticed cheese on my list any week. thanks