Be Honest

Who followed their meal plans (i.e puree, liquids etc) to the tee?  I am pretty much, but yesterday I at some fresh pineapples, OMG it was so delicious.  I did chew very well though.  So who else cheated a bit?  BTW I am on pureeds, so really no off limit foods just the consistency is the issue.

Since I was never on a diet I could never 'cheat'.... however the first few weeks I followed everything to a T because I needed to - I just had major surgery and didnt need to land back in the hospital because I did something I was not suppose to. It wasnt until I moved to 'normal' eating at 2 months out that I allowed myself to be more liberal with choices. I never went off the liquid diet nor the soft foods because I was too scared of doing damage.. again my biggest fear was landing back into the hospital because of something I chose to do. As a side note citrus was a HUGE no-no per my surgeon for the first 5 months or so... because citrus is stringy it can get stuck in the stoma (no matter how well you chew it)... he said he has had to go back and 'fish out' pieces of stuck citrus in patients so he 'banned' it. Something to think about when deciding to go against surgeons orders!

My second week home from the hospital, the day before I was to progress from full liquids to mushy food, I ate 4 noodles from Tuna Casserole, chewed them to a pulp and then sobbed for an hour because I was afraid that I hurt my pouch.  I was a good girl after that. It is a bad idea to stray from your surgeon's plan.  In 6 months, maybe even sooner, you'll be eating a typical bariatric diet which can included almost whatever you want in moderation.  So it is just a good idea to stick it out, follow what your doc wants you to do, and eventually you'll be able to eat more normally.  But especially at the beginning you can do damage by straying.

I agree as usual...During the first few months following the doctors' orders are more critical because you risk immediate physical harm versus later on when the risks are associated more with undermining the effectiveness and consistency of the required lifestyle changes...One suggestion I would have is to search around OH and the web for ideas on substituting the flavors you crave - if you can crave it and be creative enough, you can find an acceptable substitute....