Eating after surgery

Hey just been thinking what with not eating I have food on my brain for AFTER surgery lol. Planning meals a month and more ahead distracts me from the Opti now lol.

What have you folks done for alternatives or meal tweaks for things like Sushi for example since it is normally a very rice heavy meal. I used to roll my own but now am not so sure that is a good idea with the rice and all. Unless there is an alternative to sticky rice for the center of Maki sushi.

Also let me know how it was for you during the at home liquid diet first 2 weeks, how long until you were able to stand on your own to make your "meals" or was it basically wake up eat then fall asleep because you were so exhausted. Please let me know :)

Margo

Haha, I am doing the same! Sipping my opti and buying things online for post surgery... Amazon has helped me greatly. I think I have the basics and some for the first two months. Totally keeping myself busy by researching galore, found what seemed to be the best options, based on ratings,  peoples fav etc, Got all my vitamins, protein powder, cream soups in bulk, broths in bulk, I think I am pretty set for the first little while, and I should probably stop shopping anyway! 

 I love sushi, my dietician stated i will likely not be able to tolerate it at all after, for a long time, she said it will physically hurt me... 

I'll have to ask my nutritionist that next time :( I love Sushi but if being healthy means giving it up too well then it will just have to be done. 

The rice is the difficult part. You will be able to eat it again but you won't want the carbs associated with it and how it can make your gut feel - rice tends to expand.

K. :)

I personally found the liquid stage easy.  I had 0 desire to eat.  The hard one for me was the pureed stage, I'm a texture person and it was rough!  The beginning stages fly by pretty quickly.  At 7 weeks post op there is still a bunch of stuff I wouldn't dare try..I stick to eggs, ground beef and chicken..

I'm a big fan of soups so hopefully it won't be too bad for me the first 2 stages. 

Oh my god congrats 77lbs in 7 weeks!? Does that include weight lost with the optifast?  I'm totally jealous!  My 7 week mark will be just before xmas if I could shed even 70lbs by then itd definitely be a merry frigging Christmas for me! Lol

Margo

I am 2 weeks today postop and doing the full fluids stage (sitting here eating cream of wheat).  A week before surgery I pre made a few meals to freeze for my family to having during post op.  For myself I stocked up on broths and jello. I was able to go home within 24hrs of surgery and was perfectly fine to get around within 2 days, only took 2 Tylenol so far since coming home (which was for a headache) so very little pain.  Within 4 days postop I felt like I did preop and was able to walk the kids to school and prepare meals for the family.  This only difference is that dh does laundry and vacuuming :) Lost 12lbs during 1 week of opti preop, 10lbs the first week but only 3 this past week. (which I know would happen)

2 more weeks of full fluids...

Planning is a good thing! That way you know your head is in the game before you even get there. Excellent work!

Meal tweaks: I just removed all simple carbs. No rice. No crackers. No potatoes. No pasta. Nothing like that of any sort... even though it's 'permitted' on my surgeon's plan. By doing this I can maximize the "honeymoon phase" of weightloss. I can add those things back in moderation if/when I get to my goal.

As for sushi, I used to live in Japan and I found a love of sashimi (just the raw fish, with wasabi and soy sauce). Would that be an option for you? Most of the sushi rolls here are not 'real' Japanese food; they're Americanized for our palates and not at all like what I ate in Japan so I find it tough to get what I personally enjoy here. Some restaurants serve a variety of things that I like. If you are making it at home, why not try something like Miso Soup or tempura (done with veggies or shrimp)? I haven't yet done any Japanese food since my surgery but I'm sure it'll come.

I have a five-year old. She was four and in school full time when I had surgery. My husband worked nights. So I had my parents fly up to stay with us for two weeks during my surgery and early recovery. I wasn't allowed to drive (thus I couldn't pick my daughter up from school) for a few days and I was absolutely exhausted for about four days post-op. After that, I felt a whole lot better. By the time I had my one-week post-op check up (which came at about 10 days post-op, actually), I was feeling a whole lot more normal and I could drive, go shopping, and stand to make meals again. Some people need a little more time though. And I had a VSG; I don't know if it's any different for those with RNY. Something you may wish to consider.

I didn't have a liquid diet for two weeks. I had clear liquids for two days in the hospital. By the time I was allowed to go home, I was on full fluids. I could drink protein shakes the day I went home. By the fifth day at home, I was allowed soft foods, like yogourt and applesauce and at that 10-day post-op appointment, they told me I could progress to scrambled egg (but not too dry!) if I wanted to try it. By that time I was able to cook for my family too... although my mom was there to give me a hand.

When I finally transitioned to 'regular food,' I simply omit the carbs for myself. Or I double up on veggies for the rest of the family and there are no carbs served. My goal was/is 3 oz of protein per meal. If I can do that much, then I am allowed to have some veggies in addition to the protein. For example, if I serve chicken and rice to my family, with a side of steamed mixed vegetables (carrot, broccoli, cauliflower for example), I will put 2.5-3 oz of chicken on my plate and maybe a piece of each veggie. While Hubby and the kids get the full meal. If I take a lazy day and make them a frozen pizza, I've sometimes scraped off the cheese, pepperoni and veggies from a slice of pizza for myself. Or instead I'll fry an egg and have a piece of cheddar cheese. If we BBQ burgers and serve it with a salad, I'll have a beef patty (again, 2.5-3 oz only) and then a bite or two of salad. 

Eating this way has become second nature really. And it takes me just as long to eat as it takes them. And of course, no fluids before/after meals as your surgeon indicates to maximize the full feeling and retention of dense proteins in your stomach.

Look at your regular menu, and get creative in ways to modify things. Or maybe you can post a list of your regular meal ideas here; I bet a bunch of us would love to get some inspiration and take a crack at modifying things for you!

Hi Margo,

I went through the Ottawa Weight Management Clinic and their philosophy was to progress as you felt up to it.... We where basically told to go to the liquid stage when we felt comfortable to do so. The other centers had very stringent rules you had to follow it to the tee. 

Personally I think the best rule of thumb is your body knows best. Follow your own intuition (within reason). If you feel ready to advance to Yogurt after the liquid stage you'll know if you are ready. If you feel really gross after one bit of yogurt you are not going to take another. Follow your own intuition, that's your best bet....trust yourself :-) you'll know it