Diet progression INSANITY!

I had my VSG on June 11th in Mexico. I was on a five day liquid pre op diet...which I ended up eating eggs twice and a piece of flounder..And beef jerky. So anyways, being that there are fifty gazillion different diet plans out there, I found that I could not physically sustain a three week liquid post op diet that my doc gave. My husband and I are both nurses, it makes complete sense to allow the tummy to heal, HOWEVER.. there are no nutrients is sf jello and artificial junkmy surgeon had me on, so I decided to follow the Cornell surgery plan...kinda. I'm watching carbs and sugars, starting under 550-700 calories a day, still not meeting my protein reqs yet but it is HARD to get in much. I feel fabulous of course, except for the newly onset horrific acid reflux..ick. I lost several pounds pre op, then a total of 11 since surgery. I still feel like I'm doing something wrong, like why isn't the weight coming off faster...Yeah I know that's crazy, but it's how I feel! So what are you guys eating three weeks out? I just had a piece of thin turkey and provolone for dinner..rolled up you know. I keep reading all the weeks and weeks of liquids and wonder if I jumped the gun....what do you all think??

HW278

Pre Op starting 256

Day of surgery 249

CW 236

GW 155

The point of the post-op diet progression is to let your stomach heal before you put solids into it.  I think that you're being very unwise - especially since your stomach effectively has no feeling now due to the nerves being severed.  You're also taking a huge risk considering you're no longer near your surgeon - so if you damage your sleeve and have a leak, you're screwed.  Yes, a full liquid diet that progresses to purees is a drag, but there's a reason for it.  

As to weight loss, you've lost .6 pounds a day - that's awesome!  How fast were you thinking you'd lose weight?  

At three weeks out, I was on pureed foods.  Here are the things I ate -- http://myvsg.livejournal.com/37151.html -- I was easily making my protein goals with three meals a day plus a shake.  

As far as the reflux goes, are you taking a PPI such as Nexium or Prilosec?

Your diet journal looks a lot like what I eat..the types of food I eat anyways, I can't say I actually eat much per day but I try different mushies every day. I'm very curious about those on a full liquid diet three weeks out compared to those on soft foods a week out. Makes me wonder, obviously liquids are much safer, but not very sustainable energy wise.

Turkey and provolone is not mushy food.... 

The diet progression is insane BUT it is there for a reason.  You maybe a nurse but remember the surgeon deals wit this constantly.  It takes months for the stomach to heal and I was allowed to progress to the last stage(the restof my life stage) this week and I am 3 months post op with no complications.  What you are doing is dangerous....please please rethink this.  

There really is no medical evidence that the pouch or sleeve requires healing before it can handle soft foods.  

Many surgeons put people back on soft foods within a week -- sometimes within just DAYS -- of surgery with no ill effects whatsoever.  Some of those surgeons (such as mine) also find that their patients experience far less trouble with nausea or other trouble eating than people who spend a significant a out of time on liquids or purées. 

I'm not saying that the OP was right to disregard her surgeon's plan, but it also isn't "right" for people to claim that people can cause damage to their pouch/sleeve with soft, well chewed foods.

Lora

Thank you for the support. I want to be clear that I was not being blatantly ignorant..it's just that I seen no reason to follow a surgeon's plan that would never see me again, when it made no nutritional sense to me. But, I have had zero nausea since surgery..one episode of foamy disaster...Milk related, and that was that! All my labs are excellent, I feel great, just doubting myself at the time of the original post...hit a bit of a slow down, I lost pretty fast and I know my body is catching up..those scales just suck!

Thanks guys, I think I was a little unclear. I AM still on pureed food, today was day one according to the Cornell guidelines to have the thin meat and cheese. Also,I am taking prilosec and tums, it helps but it hits me really bad middle of the night. The protein shakes make me so sick, haven't found one yet that doesn't cause bad nausea. Milk products make me pretty sick, except some light cheeses, sugar makes me sick too. I know the reasons for the progressions, I'm just curious as to the different ones everyone is on. Since I was pretty much a rack em and stack em patient in Mexico, I found a reputable plan to follow. Thanks for the responses and concerns!

Oh and yes, I know I'm clinically insane to think I should have lost more..it's more of a nagging thought than a realistic thought. 

The postop diet prograssion does all of the important things that GwenMo said. But there's another aspect of this that is going to be a major problem for you long term.

You weren't able to follow the preop diet plan, and you are not at all able to follow the postop plan either. So you decided to cherry-pick a plan you liked better, with some substitutions even to that one, because that's what you wanted.

I see major issues for you, because you don't seem able, or even a little willing, to follow a plan. Unless you reign it in now, you will find ways to fit chips, ice cream, or anything else you desire into your new "plan." 

I'm sorry if this seems harsh, but anyone who has been here a while recognizes this pattern, and it always ends badly. We ALL find it harder to stick to our plan the farther out from surgery we get. But those that can never follow their plan this close to surgery start to regain their weight very early on.

I would encourage you to get back on track and follow your plan. Good luck.

Ouch! Well, I do appreciate your advice, and would have said the same to anyone myself. I chose to eat protein pre op, because medically, the point of the pre op diet is to shrink your liver. And I remained in ketosis for the entire time, according to the urine ketosis tests I did daily. And I chose to come off of my liquid diet post op because the diet I was given included absolutely nothing of nutritional value except processed protein shakes. I hope I don't have the problems you foresee, I can't even tolerate milk..I don't thin**** cream is in my future..but I totally get what you're saying about junk. And you've made tremendous progress, so I'll definitely heed your warning! I really just wanted to know what people felt like, ate, thoughts, etc around this period in the journey.