Help!

Hi

New to this forum. Had a Gastric Bypass 2 weeks ago today and am struggling.

I'm eating all wrong, both quantity and type of food. I feel just as hungry between meals as I ever did pre-op.

I think I've distinguished between emotional and physical cravings for food and have real physical craving and am still able to eat larger quantities of food than I would expect.

Any suggestions? I'm feeling pretty low :'(

Ok take a deep breath.

What are you eating and how much daily?

Did your surgeon/nutritionist give you a meal plan to follow post-op?

How is your fluid intake? I ask because dehydration can mimic hunger as can acid in some people.

If you can give us more information we can try and help you sort things out.

Yesterday: Tin of baked beans and poached eggs for breakfast, lasagne and garlic bread for lunch (didn't quite finish the lasagne!), omelette at about 5pm then two slices of cheese on toast for no reason at all.

i think I'm drinking enough water. I have a meal plan which says I should be eating 2/3 tablespoons of moist food. Spoke to the nutrition guy who says things are perfectly normal and to eat 'little and often'.

I just can't believe how much I'm able to eat, still feel hungry soon after a meal and am now putting weight back on. Soul destroying.

Hello!

I hope some others jump on to give their perspective, but reading what you ate yesterday does concern me. At 2 weeks out, I was on full liquids/pureed foods, so a normal day of eating for me looked more like;

8a - 1/2 protein shake

10a - other half of protein shake

12p to 4 p - continuously taking small sips of strained chicken noodle soup (totally about 1 cup of soup or less)

6p to 8p - yogurt (generally 1/2 a cup by the time I was done)

For the first month, I was easily eating under 400 calories a day and they were all non-solid foods. It really surprises me that your surgeons office believes it is okay to be eating full on bread at this point. I wasn't cleared for a "normal solid foods diet" until 4 weeks and some have to wait 6!

Now, even being 4/6/8/whatever weeks out and being able to eat "normal" foods, it also greatly concerns me that the normal foods you are deciding to eat are things like pasta and garlic bread. I don't think anyone would argue the lasagna and garlic bread are good for facilitating weight loss. To be honest, what you ate yesterday sounds exactly like the food choices I would have made before I had surgery, the ones that got me up to 260 pounds.

It sounds like your office wants you on soft foods, things like; ricotta cheese, scrambled eggs, yogurt, those poached eggs would also work if chewed well. Some offices/people can also handle things like mashed tuna fish or canned chicken at this point, and while mashed fruit like applesauce or mashed bananas would also be safe, usually it's not recommended because you should save your calories/stomach space for getting in protein.

I hope it helps! And I am sorry you are struggling

First off that is way to much food for just a couple of week's out.

This is what my post-op instructions were post op diet. Now keep in mind that just because it said things like oatmeal, toast, cream of wheat, etc. I did not eat them. I stuck to protein foods even if I ate the same thing day after day. I understand every post-op plan is different, but eating lasagna and garlic bread at only 2 weeks out is a very dangerous thing.

Your insides have been cut and it takes time to heal. There have been cases of folks eating to much after surgery and they died due to a ruptured staple line. You cannot rely on your stomach to tell you when you are full.

It is extremely important that you weigh/measure/track everything you eat and drink.

I hate to say it, but your nutritionist is a NUT and in my opinion is giving you very bad post-op instructions.

It's possible to call yourself a nutritionist with very little training, and almost no experience with bariatric surgery patients. I suspect this one doesn't know enough to tell you better.

At two weeks out, eating this much food could LITERALLY kill you. You could bust your pouch open and die. I'm not trying to scare you, it's the truth that you are at risk for life-threatening complications right now.

If you have a meal plan, take another look and follow it to the letter. Surgery is not magic and requires that you follow the instructions that you were given-- both for your health, and for the sake of your weight loss.

I can't speak to your specific meal plan, but generally an appropriate plan (for someone who is completely healed) is a small amount of lean, dense protein like chicken breast, then maybe a bite or two of veg. NO garlic bread, no beans, no toast, VERY few carbs.

I'm sorry but did you come up with your profile name after eating a tin of beans? And do you mean whole tin of beans?

I didn't see in any of your posts where you include the quantity of food or that you're measuring and weighing your portions. If you aren't you need to do that. You could end physically hurting your pouch buy over filling it.

I've never read any research that says it's okay to eat lasagna and garlic bread at 2-3 weeks post op. If that's the advice you're getting from your surgical centre I would be very concerned.

Sorry for the challenges, but keep in mind you just had surgery so your nerves are all healing. I really doubt you are experiencing physicial hunger. You either aren't getting enough water/fluids - which your body is signalling and you interpret as hunger or your addiction isn't being handled. I'd go over a detailed food journal with your nutritionist and if she/he says you should be eating 2 slices of bread at this stage - find a new NUT PLEASE. But I feel you really should be getting to a therapist. The surgery is a tool, not a cure. It's up to you to work it from both ends. Good luck.

If you aren't already, please find a therapist ASAP. You're self-sabotaging yourself right now and you've got to get your head in the game if you want to be healthy. Please find the professionals who can help you.

Wow lasagna and garlic bread! And that sat well with your new pouch? I'm only 7 weeks out, but would be too afraid to eat that now or ever really. And I love some lasagna and garlic bread! I do know that in the first couple weeks I found myself still hungry, but I followed the strictly puréed diet my bariatric program gave me and the portion sizes to a tee. Later on I started feeling more restriction and was no longer hungry all the time. I think maybe it may take a little while for the restriction to set in for some people? Not really sure about that though. Some of the vets here would know better than I would.

Just be careful with what you eat. My nurse told me stories of patients who went out right after their surgery and had burgers, fries and ice cream and ended up back in the hospital. That scared the heck out of me!