What should I expent to be eating the 1st 6months?

Alrighty I am one for reading, reading, researching and being fully prepared. I'm a bit OCD about anything I do being fully planned and prepared. I have been reading and reading about what everyone eats and I some how got lost. My question plain and simple is this, what will/should I be eating the 1st 6 months? If you have a thread you could point me to or any advise for me as a newbie I sure would appreciate that! Also, I have *favorited* the recipe for the frozen protein coffee drink, how early out can I drink those? Thank you all so much for your continued words of wisdom!!

 I ate a lot of yogurt (Greek), cottage cheese, string cheese, roast beef slices, soups (beef broth, beef, some veggies), moist chicken, etc.

I completely (and still to this day) lost my taste for eggs. I thought I'd be able to rely on them for protein, but I cannot stomach them for some reason.

Did you do the protein shakes and stuff too? I'm not really that into eggs now but maybe that might change. Your weight loss is amazing by the way!

 Definitely did the protein shakes, but those were very difficult to stomach the first month out of surgery. The taste was horrible (tried every brand imaginable) and the lactose didn't agree with me at first. 

Who is your surgeon?  Each surgeon has their own progression from hospital to normal diet.  Some surgeons allow you to eat anything you want and can tolerate while you are still in the hospital.  Others have almost a RnY type diet with a very slow progression from liquids, to purees, to soft etc...

But by a couple of months out you should be eating small amounts of mainly protein in almost any form.

Some folks take longer to be able to tolerate dense meat but it was never an issue for me.

Some folks develop intolerances.  Wheat gluten, sugar alcohols, and lactose are the most common.  These intolerances may resolve, get better or not. 

You can read the bites and vites thread for ideas about what folks are eating.  There are often newbies posting there.

The main thing early early is just fluids.  That is a full time job and you can't believe it until you live it.  Then you will work up to 30 grams of protein by 30 days, 60 by 60, 90 by 90 and then AT LEAST 100 every day for life.

I think protein shakes are very helpful.  But some people never use them.  Like most things with the DS you will have to find your own way.

~Becky

I think this is a hard question to answer since everyone has had such different experiences. You "should" be able to get yourself back to where your eating "normal" food, just not as much. You learn to really, really listen to your body. You learn a whole new way of eating.

I know personally for me (only speaking for me), going into it I was thinking "it's no big deal" I will still eat regular food, just not as much. I can handle that. Well....I'm a planner also and my plans didn't turn out so well. I basically couldn't eat for the first six months. I lived on protein drinks (yuk), cottage cheese and baby food and frozen snapples (slussies). I had acquired acid reflux that I never had before. I threw up each and every day for six months and had to relearn how to eat - from baby food on up.

I tell you this not to scare you but to keep it real. You will read about others who have sailed through this procedure with no problems and others that don't even make it out of the hospital. Each and every person is so different and everybodies body is different. As much of a planner as you want to be (buying vitamins, food ahead of time, etc..) you just can't plan with this surgery. Your body does the talking and you learn to listen to it.

Good luck to you, I hope all goes well. When is your surgery?

It is really going to depend on how you do after surgery. For me, some foods that I thought I could go to after surgery were a no go. I found my tastes had changed and I had to really experiment. I almost went through a process like I did with my children and transitioning them to baby food and solids - I would try something and see how it went and then maybe try it again until I felt like it was a go or in some cases a no go. It wasn't until for me about 6 months out that I felt that I was eating more normally. The first six months were the most trying for me but everyone's experience is different. For someone that likes to plan which I am that type as well, it was frustrating but I had to learn to adapt and really listen to my body. To this day, I still go through food jags where something worked great for awhile and I really leaned on it and now I'm over it and have to find something different and I'm 16 months out.



Alecia

You guys never seize to amaze me!! Thank you all for the advise and Lisa thank you so much for the reality of it. I really appreciate people who tell it to me straight. As far as who my surgeon is, it will be Dr. Stewart. I am going to meet with him tomorrow morning and will probably know more tomorrow. I guess it will just be a trial and error sort of thing which is totally fine with me :)

You guys are awesome!!!

I can't speak from long experience (I'm only 2 weeks out), but I've been living off of protein shakes and cottage cheese mostly.  I did find that a little ricotta cheese with a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce helps to break the monotony.  But eating is definitely an individual thing.  A friend of mine suggested refriend beans (with unflavored protein mixed in) and a little melted cheese.... I felt like CRAP!  They were too dense or something.  Besides, we all know what beans do and as a DS'er I've learned quickly to never trust a fart.  Sorry TMI, LOL.