First day of 'real' food after 2 week post-op liquid diet....

Hello out there, I had a question, and it seems fairly ridiculous but I can't get it out of my head. I'm 18 days post-op, and today is the first day I'm allowed to eat 'real' food (soft proteins only). My question and concern is, after so long on a liquid only diet of 400-500 calories a day, I'm afraid that eating food (which has more calories in it and less protein than my protein shakes) will cause me to gain weight. For example, the scrambled egg I had for breakfast (well, 2/3 of it anyway) had about 78 calories and only 6 g protein. I'm supossed to be eating 60-80 g protein a day according to my surgeon, but to eat all 80 g in 'real' food seems like a lot of calories. I know (especially at first as I'm getting used to real food again) that I'm still going to be drinking my protein shakes at least once a day to help get all the protein I need, but.... I dont know. Maybe this doesn't make much since, and I'm being irrational. I am just doing so well so far (16 lbs down in 2 weeks!) I don't want to do anything to spoil that. Did anyone else feel like this? 

Every surgeon has different instructions but mine said to supplement with protein shakes until you are able to eat 60-80g of protein a day. 8 months out and I still use them a couple times a week.

Well, if switching to solid foods and upping your calories slightly were enough to make the weight loss stop, no one who has gone before you would ever have succeeded, because we all did that sooner or later.

I doubt you can eat enough at this point to get all your protein in, so as long as it is okay on your plan, keep with a shake every day to hit your protein goals. Watch your calorie totals, and as long as you aren't doing anything crazy (like eating lots of mashed potatoes, or loading up your shakes with peanut butter and bananas) and you will do fine. One word of warning though -- you are very likely about to hit the three week stall, no matter what you are eating. Don't let it freak you out!

Dont worry about you calorie count right now! Your main focus should be hitting your protein goals, water intake and vitamins!  There is no way at 18 days post op you could even eat enough food to make you gain so your going to be getting  most of your protein needs met by shakes! When I started the purée phase at 3 weeks post op I hated food I mean I despised everything it was just yucky and gross only thing I could bare was mashed potatoes, I still to this day never want to see an egg again lol! But congrats on your surgery don't worry to much, just follow your surgeon plan and you'll be just fine!

At this point you're still going to be suplementing your protein requirements with either shakes or a protein powder. But you can also start trying foods such as nonfat greek yogurt, fat free cottage cheese or moist & soft flakey fish (like swai, tilapia, or salmon) that are low in calories but high in protein. Be sure to weigh, measure & track (on an app such as MyFitnessPlan) everything you have so you know how much you're actually consuming. As others have said, don't worry too much about the calories for now and you'll be fine. And yes, the "three week stall" can be very frustrating. Just keep reminding youself about all the NSV's you're experiencing during this time.

If the best you can do with solid foods is eat 2/3 of an egg, you really don't need to worry about gaining weight. The only solid foods that will make you gain weight at any point after your surgery are "slider foods," like refined carbs (crackers, bread, cereal) and sweets (don't need to tell you what they are!). If you keep on eating high-quality protein and fresh vegetables and fruits (when you are able), you will lose weight. That's a 100% guarantee!

psychoticparrot

P.S. Your avatar photo is great. You're very pretty. Be sure to show us "after pictures" when you feel the time is right. I think you'll be stunning as your weight comes off. BTW, I'm a 63yo woman, so I'm not trying to hit on you! 

Thank you everyone, for your great advice!! I think I was just freaking out because it's a new phase and I have to have something to freak out about. I so want this surgery to work for me, I forget how little I can eat. According to my surgeons eating plan, I'm only allowed to have soft proteins for the next 2 months, then slowly introduce soft cooked veggies. I'm not allowed to have 'fun' carbs (whole wheat, brown rice, any type of fruit****il I get off 75% of my excess weight...which will be awhile. I will try not to freak out again until then. :-) 

Your body is still healing and it desperately needs protein at this point.  

You won't gain weight adding soft proteins to your diet.  Focus on getting the 60-80 grams of protein right now.  It's easiest with protein shakes so soon after surgery.  You're likely to hit the dreaded "3-week stall" soon but don't let the numbers on your scale make you sacrifice what your body needs to heal.  

Keep in mind that you will most likely lose the most weight during the first month.   I remember the immense rush of losing a pound a day, but that's not sustainable forever.   What's important is making permanent changes to your lifestyle and adopting better habits early in the post surgery game