I've been wondering...

When do you all progress to other foods?

I see people talk about being on liquids for weeks on in and it shocks me!

As of last Saturday I was on full liquids, and on Wednesday I move on to purees (if my tummy is okay with it). And by 3 weeks post op I can start soft foods. 4 weeks start working on real foods.

Im so confused as to why so many surgeons are so different when it comes to this. I trust my surgeon. I loved him! I am just genuinely curious.

Edited to add: I am by no means rushing my healing process and do know to move forward if and only if my body is ready. The times my surgeon gave me are estiments if you will. I just don't understand how surgeons can vary so much on something so serious.

I did 2 weeks of liquids, 2 weeks of pureed and 2 weeks of soft food.

Me too... at 6 weeks, I was cleared to eat anything I wanted to try, except raw veggies (I can't remember when I was allowed them actually)...

That didn't mean I could eat anything I tried... I learned that very quickly! LOL

***Edited to add that looks like I already answered this yesterday... dang, I need more coffee, decaf or not!

Its so different between different surgeons. Some people on here don't get to eat regular foods for 3 months. My surgeon had me start them after 6 weeks....although, with that being said, I was very nervous to do that and I waited several more weeks until I felt ready. Every surgeon does seem to have their own method. Its just how it is, I guess. I took everyones advice here into consideration and figured I would do what I felt was best for me.

By 6 weeks I could try whatever I wanted... the first 10 days were liquid.. the pureed... then anything I could mush with a fork.

Just because they said I could, however, didn't mean I actually could.

I spent months eating things that didn't agree with me... getting things stuck... etc.

I wouldn't trade a minute of it though.

Just remember, just because they say you can, doesn't mean your pouch will agree. Go slow... a couple of bites of each thing at a time... you'll learn what your pouch likes and what it doesn't.

I can't recall a day of getting beef stuck (with the exception of meatballs... dunno what my pouch has against meatballs).

It is strange isn't it? I wondered the same thing.

All I could think of was that maybe doctors who keep their patients on liquids for such long periods of time after surgery are trying to maximize their patients rapid weight loss early on when there is little to no hunger. Especially since it seems like there are nutritionists/dieticians at some of these surgery centers that are using the standard food pyramid as a post-WLS eating guide rather than protein-forward eating?

I'd be curious if there are any differences in long term success (or complication rate) between patients who are on the fluids/purees for so long vs. those who aren't.

At my surgeon's office, it's a couple days of clear fluids, then 2 weeks of shakes/purees, 3 weeks of soft/mushy food, then start ramping up with solids starting at a little after 5 weeks, with a slow progression to tougher foods (e.g. if well-cooked veggies are tolerated, then try less-done but still cooked veggies, when those are well tolerated, then try raw). Some things like nuts we are advised to avoid until about 3 months out.

Yeah everybody's plan is different. I was on liquids I think either 1 or 2 weeks post op, then it was pureed for a week, then soft food for a week, then all foods by around the 6 week mark. Some foods were a little hard to handle, so I'd go back to the previous week or go back to eating the food again in a month.

Each surgeon seems have one variation on the same plan - liquids, puree, soft, etc. I think it also is a way of scaring folks into compliance. It can be very dangerous to push too much too fast so my guess is each surgeon has a margin of error factored into their plan...

I guess that each surgeon, to some extent, thinks his or her plan for post-op is the "best." I'm sure most surgeons evaluate what has worked best for patients in the past and have modified their programs to reflect what has been proven to work for them.

My surgeon had me on liquids for one week after surgery, puréed foods for two weeks after that, and soft foods for three weeks after that. I have heard of people being required to do two-three weeks of liquids after surgery. I don't know how one can do three weeks of liquids only. I was ready for some puréed mush after my week of liquids!

If I recall correctly, I was on liquids for a week (but didn't do protein drinks for quite a while). Then I had soft foods for a week or so, whi*****luded refried beans with cheese, eggs, mashed potatoes with cheese (this was only during this time-potatoes were off limits for quite some time after that), greek yogurt. I was able to eat cheese and deli lunch meat, soft fish and scallops by the 4th week. Follow your surgeon's plan and listen to your body. I was also able to eat beef jerky during week 3, but had to chew it to smithereens. It really helped with protein because I eat it throughout the day in little bits and pieces.