7 days Post Op w/ questions

Hello everyone! I FINALLY had my Bypass on Monday the 7th, and was blessed enough to have it Laproscopically. I am already bored w/ "full liquids". I cannot wait to get to my soft foods... Does anyone know of a GOOD list of soft foods, or cookbooks that are really effective? Does anyone have a good tip that will take me thru the next 5 days of yogurt, jell-o, and soup, alternatives?? I would be forever in yout debt! Peace and Love... Becki p.s.--does anyone ever get so 'drugged' up that they sleep thru meals, and not want to eat once awake? Am I headed for danger??

OK, first I'm gonna be rather blunt with you. I went through this with my husband and well...I'm gonna tell you a thing or two. LOL YOU CAN'T BE "BORED" OF FOOD!!! Food is for fuel not fun. Make sure you think of it that way. If not, you will be setting yourself up for trouble. Food is supposed to be so that your body can work. Think of your stomach as a newborn babies. If you give a newborn a steak...what is gonna happen? NOT VERY GOOD THINGS. You have to gradually get things going. Sleeping through meals isn't a good idea either. You do need that food *as I said* to survive. If you have to, set a timer to make yourself eat. Once you get more into the swing of things, you will know when you are hungry and whatnot. As of right now, ya gotta eat to keep your body alive. If you don't you can get BEYOND malnurished and dehydrated. This whole thing is a process. You are learning a new you. When my husband was a big cry baby whiner that b*tched constantly because he was "sick" of jello...I decided beating him wasn't a good idea so we did the refried bean approach. Refried beans are a great source of protein. For some odd reason, he didn't get sick of them. He can live on them. Even now when he can eat whatever. He also took tortilla chips and chewed them to pulp. That would make them a "soft" food. Just remember...CHEW CHEW CHEW CHEW CHEW and then CHEW some more. There is also this little secret that probably everyone does but doesn't talk about....it's the suck and spit. Yeah...you know you did it so just be quiet. Congrats on your surgery! Having it Lap is what I'm hoping for. My husband had a heck of a time with that one incision. If you get any new ideas for food...make sure you share. Melissa

I just got Susan Maria Leach's Before & After WLS book, but haven't read through it to know if it will help with where you're at or not. You can get it at Borders for around $25. (Couldn't find it at Barnes & Noble but they are much into Customer Service at the store I went to.) You can also get it on line at www.bariatriceating.com (Susan's web site). As for soft food (moderate-high protein) suggestions: Eggs - scrambled or poached (no runny yolks) cheese lunch meat (CHEW TO A PULP) mashed potatoes creamy soups w/ skim or 1% milk sugar free pudding (add protein powder) As far as drugs go. If you're taking a prescription pain killer, see if your doctor will allow you to use liquid tylenol for pain instead. It doesn't knock you out as much. I was worried about not getting enough protein when I was on pureed and soft foods but so far my hair, skin and nails are in pretty good condition. Even today, I don't eat anything until about 9 or 10 o'clock even though I get up at 6. But, I make sure I get at least 3 meals in (I'm on regular diet now) and if I get hungry between meals, I eat a high portein snack, like peanut butter on saltines, or a protein bar, or even fruit (which doesn't have protein ). Just hang in there, and remember, it does get better. One other thing, I used to drink Boost High Protein shakes (chocolate) as a meal when on liquids. It usually took 2 or 3 meal times to finish one bottle and they didn't taste all that bad.