Yay Friday! What's on your menu?

Did you go from full liquids to full food or have interim steps? I had a soft foods phase that was between purées and ?normal?. I think there are cheeses that are less lactose, so not sure you?d have to give up cheese completely! I know I couldn?t do that

Mine has been:

Phase 1- water- about three hours on July 15th

Phase 2 - protein shakes - July 15th until August 1st

Phase 3 - soft, lean meats, low fat dairy, eggs, and cooked, skinless, non-starchy vegetables- August 1st until October 11th

Phase 4 - all textures including crunchy and raw of lean meats and non starchy vegetables, plus low fat dairy, eggs, etc. - current

The only other changes would be carbs, which the dieticians are supposed to assess as we lose and approve what we can have. So basically from protein shakes to food. Still no carbs are approved. No pureed Phase for me.

Oh and stage 4 includes protein bars and snacks.

So, if I were going to do a step down on that, it would be to stage 3 not to stage 2. All the guidelines are based on generalities so sometimes you might need longer in a stage. What I learned from others here is how important it is to follow your medical team to perfection while you are healing and then find what works for you after that. I know my plan allowed for a lot of things I didn't touch until after goal.

Fair point, thanks. I'd integrated some protein bars and protein chips and a little raw veg. I might just stick with mostly stage 3 for a while. It will take out the processed stuff, which is better anyway!

I'm one of the ones that found out I was lactose intolerant after surgery. But Greek Yogurt and hard cheeses are fine, they have very little lactose. I also use Fairlife milk, it's lactose free and higher in protein. I used to love black beans but they no longer love me, it's all a learning experience. And some days are better than others, I can go a week eating the same things and then have horrible gas for no apparent reason. If I'm going to have any soft cheeses I take lactaid and I'm fine. It's a day at a time. You will figure it out.

Thanks for sharing your journey! I'm glad there are items that work for you. And I hear you on the...works sometimes feedback. You're right - a day at a time!

Try Pininterest for Bariatric diet recipes. I generally have found if the meat texture is on the dry side I have issues with nausea and foamies. Therefore I try to make sure meat is cooked in the slow cooker with extra broth/boullion. Or in a sauce to add back moisture. Have you tried ricotta or cottage cheese. My clinic would advise to move back one texture if you are having lots of issues with a new texture. I do disagree with the bean recommendation since you could supplement the beans with another protein source. You are tracking your calories and macros so I think you would be aware of your protein....

Thanks for the feedback! The crock pot is my friend, though I've learned cube steak can still be dry in it.

Yep, I eat cottage cheese and ricotta. I've had the ricotta bakes (though not lately since the last one was grainy) and ricotta pancakes.

And yep, definitely tracking macros. She told me yesterday not to worry about calories so much as prioritizing the protein, which I do. So yay.

I agree on the protein bars since they make me hungry too fast and leave me craving more. My protein frosty is a drink but thickened with sf instant pudding, ice cubes, sf flavoring for an extra flavor boost. I freeze those so they are thick like a Wendy's frosty. So not really drinking the protein drink. It fills me up and is treat like.

sometimes with foods you try, retreat, then retry. It may take your new body time to adjust to new textures. But some things remain an intolerance. Time will tell.