more food

Ok so yesterday was my first post-op appt. with my doctor. As of right now my band is empty and I don't have a fill yet and won't until I see the doctor again in 6 weeks. I had been on clear liquids and have lost 16pounds since my surgery 10 days ago. Yester day the doctor said I can advance to more mushy food, dairy and even eggs and that in 10 days I can started eating the other kinds of food but to stay away from carbs and stop as soon as I feel food. I told him I was worried to not loose weight as I have been doing so well but he told me my body needed more protein. I guess my question is did you guys experience this and where you scared about moving away from broth to the other kinds of food and how did you do it?

I did buy a cooking book yesterday so I can't wait to try the recipes..

Thanks so much for any help.....

Make sure you are hitting your protein needs. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WEIGHT LOSS. In the future you can worry about carbs, calories, fats, etc, but for now - WORRY ABOUT THE PROTEIN. Now don’t get me wrong - I don’t want you to eat a bag of chips, or whole cake or drink tons of ice cream shakes in order to get protein in. You need to use some common sense :) !!

I noticed I lost MORE weight after once I went into my next stages.

 

*** DISCLAIMER ALERT *** TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITION BEFORE INCREASING /CHANGE YOUR INTAKE.

 

When I first had the operation I had the same concerns as you. A close friend, who is a Certified Fitness Trainer, gave me a valuable lesson concerning losing weight. He gave me some information I found interesting, and thought I’d pass it along. The first thing he said is “You have to EAT in order to lose weight". I know, it sounds strange. He further explained, this does not mean to OVEREAT, but eat sensible portions. That means eat until you feel full (not stuffed).

 

He explained the body is a marvelous machine, and it will protect itself. If one doesn’t eat enough, the body’s metabolism will slow down - in order to keep it functioning. If a person intake is less then what it expels, the body will start to “store" food. If a person stay on this type of eating regiment over a prolonged period, the body starts to “eat it self" - which is extremely unhealthy and could be fatal.

 

According to my friend, the first thing the body will first start to “eat away" at is all the stored sugars in the body. After that has been depleted, the body then attacks all the (both good and bad) carbohydrates and fats. Finally the body starts to “digest" the proteins in the body. The proteins are mostly stored in muscle. One of the most important muscles our body has is the HEART. That’s why many anorexia patients die of heart problems - basically the body ate it away. 

 

He said don’t worry if you’re losing right away. He said as long as we follow the guidelines our Doctors/Nutritionist has set for us, we will loose weight. The body sometimes takes a while before it “resets" itself.

 

*** DISCLAIMER ALERT *** TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITION BEFORE INCREASING /CHANGE YOUR INTAKE.

 

Now this is the Diet Progression that was set for me. Again, speak to your Dr/Nut before adding/following this

 

Clear liquids for the first 48 hours.

This included:

Water/ice chips

Low-fat broth

Sugar-free Jell-O

Sugar-free juices

Sugar-free popsicles

Sugar-free water flavor powders (ex. Crystal Light)

Noncarbonated flavored waters

Unsweetened decaffeinated tea/diet iced-tea

 

*** DISCLAIMER ALERT *** TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITION BEFORE INCREASING /CHANGE YOUR INTAKE

 

After 3 – 4 days, I went to the full liquid diet:

 

Protein shake (less than 30 grams of protein and less than 10 grams of carbs per serving) – made with either water or Skim (Plus) Milk

 

Skim (Plus) milk

Vegetable juice (V8/tomato)

Low-fat cream soup (made with Skim (Plus) Milk and passed through a strainer)

Light-smooth nonfat/no sugar added yogurt (Greek yogurt has more protein)

Sugar-free/fat-free pudding (made with Skim (Plus) Milk)

Unsweetened/Natural/no sugar added (SMOOTH) apple sauce

Whipped low-fat cottage cheese

Non-Fat ricotta cheese

 

*** DISCLAIMER ALERT *** TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITION BEFORE INCREASING /CHANGE YOUR INTAKE

 

2 to 3 weeks the soft-food stage, whi*****ludes:

 

Oatmeal/Cream of Wheat/Farina (made with water or Skim (Plus) Milk and passed through a strainer)

Soft-cooked eggs/Egg beaters

Canned tuna/salmon packed in water (moisten with low-fat mayo if necessary)

Soft-baked/broiled/stewed: chicken and/or fish

Low-fat deli meats

Tofu

Soft low-fat cheeses

Cooked lentils; kidney beans, peas, legumes

Black bean/lentil soups (strained, no chunks)

Soft-cooked vegetables

Canned fruits packed in “light" or “own" juices

Low-fat refried beans

 

*** DISCLAIMER ALERT *** TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITION BEFORE INCREASING /CHANGE YOUR INTAKE

 

After one month I was allowed to go onto solid foods.

 

*** DISCLAIMER ALERT *** TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITION BEFORE INCREASING /CHANGE YOUR INTAKE

Good luck and know we're here if/when you need.

Welcome to the loser's bench!  I was a little nervous about eating solid food, but my progression was one week liquids, one week mushies and then cautiously introduce one new solid food per meal at the beginning of week 3.  I was told to cut my food into m&m size bites and to put my fork down between bites to slow things down and to chew 15-30 times before swallowing.
I eased my transition from mushies to solids by adding some cooked ground turkey (really ma**** up in the pan) to my soups at the end of week two...I had no problems with it and it helped get my protein intake up.  I started with 3 oz of soup/1 oz of turkey and gradually increased the turkey, decreased the soup.  You can use bbq sauce to help moisten your meat too.  For me, salads were a no-no until after my 6 week check-up when I did not have a fill.  If I had a fill then, I would have been allowed salads another two weeks out.  I ate a lot of poached eggs, since scrambled eggs are a little difficult for me (still) and use turkey bacon to up my lean protein for breakfast.
Tuna salad is a good option too...make up a batch (no pickles or onion or celery, but use the pickle juice, onion powder or celery salt to add flavor) put into the little glad containers (4oz) and pack a few wheat thins or other cracker that you like for a nutritious lunch.  Egg salad or devilled eggs are a good snack or lunch too.
My nutritionist told me the same thing as Tom...focus on protein and you will go in the right direction.  I had to limit carbs because of diabetes, but was told to get 47-75 gr of protein per day and try to keep carbs under 100 and avoid fats and sugars.
You will do fine...hope this helps!

Thanks so much Tom & Stephanie for all your advise and valuable information. I will follow it because it's how my doctor wants me to go from stage to stage.

When I was reading your info Tom, I realized that not eating is the lifestyle that I have always done if I went on a diet. I loose weight then don't eat thinking I will loose more and of course that never happens because if it did I wouldn't have needed the surgery. I ended up eating more because I was famished from not eating and always choose the wrong foods (chips, icecream etc).

Agains thanks guys for your help:)

Janitzia