Post op diet Grocery list

Hi-

I have my surgery in a week and wanted to know what people bought to have at home for their post op diets. I'm looking for recommendations of good protein drinks and mixes for the first couple of weeks. Basically a grocery list suggestion box. Anything that helped having! Thank you!

It's been awhile for but let see if I can remember what worked and what didn't. Keep in mind your taste buds will likely go on strike at first and nothing really tastes good.

beef and chicken bouillon
cream of chicken (or anything else) soup (try to find one that is gluten free)
sugar free Popsicles
sugar free pudding
Lactaid milk
Syntrax Necatar protein powders (my favorites are vanilla, chocolate, strawberry mousse, cappuccino)
buy some fresh lemons and limes for a quick squeeze into your water
Sugar Free Gator Aid or similar sports drink

--gina

My biggest suggestion is to NOT buy a lot of any one thing. Your taste buds are liable to go haywire, and what tastes good today may taste like pure poison after surgery. Get lots of single-servings of different brands and flavors of beverages and protein, but don't commit until you find out after you get home what sucks or not.

One thing you can definitely stock up on is vitamins. I highly recommend the DS recommended list from Vitalady.com. They will package them together for you or you can buy them piecemail. Don't fall for the all-in-one bariatric special brands. None of them provide us with all that we need.

Also remember that you're not taking the full complement of vitamins from the beginning. You have to work up and that could take at least a month.

The other thing about your taste buds is that everything will taste overly sweet - even the sugar free items. I remember having the hardest time finding a protein powder I liked (but that was also 14 years ago and they definitely taste alot better now). Try to get samples if you can so you're not investing in something you don't like. I also liked sugar free jello and ice pops. Once you start "eating" food, we're talking about one (or even a half) of a scrambled egg, or a spoonful of cottege cheese or yogurt, or one or two shrimp.

The general rule is 30 grams of protein by the end of the first 30 days, 60 grams of protein by the end of the first 60 days, 90 grams by the end of the first 90 days, until you're at your ultimate goal of 120+ grams of protein a day - but that's going to take months to get to.

I like Gina's list but a couple of things.

Early on the "cream of anything" soups stage I was told to strain the soups.

I found warm liquids easier so the chicken and beef bouillon cubes or powder was good for me.

Propel and G2 were starting drinks for me.

A little later I started with Optimum Nutrition chocolate powder for protein drinks. 4 years later
still a fan of multiple flavors.

You might look around for some sample packs. I think I've seen Syntrax available and you used
to be able to get samples from the Vitalady website but I haven't checked there in quite a while.

No carbonated stuff early on but if you really have a yen you can open and let it go flat. I used this
as a time to get off pop.

Crystal light on the go packs is still one of my favorite go to's.

I realize heavy on the liquids in the beginning but a little later cottage cheese, Chobani yogurt were both good for me.

Pete

I couldn't stand chicken broth. To me it was too salty. I did, however, drink lots of beef broth, Premiere Protein drinks--french vanilla, sugar free popsicles, and lots and lots of crushed ice. When I was finally able to eat, baked fish and shrimp was my go to--very small portions, of course. It was easy on the stomach and I was able to keep it down. I drank tons of water a sip at a time. I set a timer and made sure I took a couple of sips every 5 minutes. Some fast food restaurants that have crushed ice will sell it to you--you just have to check with them. The Sonic in our neighboring town gave my husband several bags of crushed ice because he told them I had just had surgery and it helped keep my hydrated. It was awesome!

I bought all the sugar-free stuff, jello, pudding... found out about day 10, that I can't do any of the sugar alcohols, gave a big garbage bag of stuff to my daughter. Anything at ends in *itol was horrible for me. Still is over 9 yrs out.

Val's Ricotta Fluff was a life saver. Some foods didn't sit well and would come up immediately. I kept a log on the fridge for my water and protein.

Tuna salad worked great, but the smell of hard boiled eggs turned my tummy for the first few weeks, then it was ok as egg salad. Needed lots of mayo and mustard though. Sauces helped too.