Question:
At 5 wks post-op, please give me examples of what I can eat

I would love to get samples of what and how much can be eaten at 5 wks post-op, I feel like I am eating the same thing over and over and getting burned out, also can *I drink more than 1 ounce of water every 15 minutes yet? I get thirsty and sometimes want more...Thanks    — Carla I. (posted on September 14, 2003)

September 14, 2003
OH DEFINITELY!! Drink as much as you'd like! (just wait after eating 30-60 mins as directed by your surgeon)...at this point there's no reason to limit how much you drink! Fluid passes very quickly through your pouch, and as long as you're comfortable, drink as much as often as you want.. it's good for you! As for what you can eat..at my one month check up, my diet progressed to soft meats, cooked vegetables, and pasta, crackers and dry cereal (although I avoid those due to carbs)...life has been so much easier.. I eat chili, chunky soups (eating meat first), string cheese sticks, yogurt, sirloin burgers stuffed with cheese & bacon, marinated chicken breast on the grill, and an occaisonal baked potato wtih cheese, or chili on it, etc....obviously, very small portions. No bread, rice, salad, or raw vegetables yet.
   — Kelly B.

September 14, 2003
I'm five weeks also. The only no no that my doctors listed is raw veggies (salad @ 3mos) & soda. I've not had much luck w/ meat. I keep trying. I drink quite a bit of water. Since surgery I find that I must keep a bottle w/ me at all times. My surgeon approved this as long as I remember to pause between meals. He said that we should definately get in at least 64oz per day.
   — [Deactivated Member]

September 14, 2003
Hi! I only have a day and a half and I can eat soft real foods, 4 weeks out. These are suggestions from my nutrionist and my own ideas I have tried and will try. Canned or pouched salmon, marinate with teryaki sauce, or make them into moist small crab cakes (recipes on the container), you can make fresh salmon but you need to poach first as it can dry it out any other way. Canned or pouches are good as they come in small portions. Rotissiere chicken from Coscto or local grocery store, preferably the dark meat. No problem here! Costco makes the best chickens and the thigh meat is my fav. (has a little bit more protein) Cottage cheese with fruit Poached eggs Tuna or chicken salad, without the crunchy vegies Refried beans with guacamole (found box of 4 pouches, dropped spoonfuls into ice tray [as the premade stuff is freezable] for a quick defrost when I want some) The avocado is good fat, and the kind I got at Costco had great big nice chunks of avocado in it, I just smashed it a little more and added some fresh cilantro. Having a bowl of it right now, I got regular mexican pinto beans and just smashed them a bit and added a dollop of guac. MMMMMMM Canned or pouch soups - Bear Creek makes great big container so potato, cheddar broccoli soups, just add water. Also can find many different brands of pouched soups in the soup aisle, add clams, fresh cooked chicken or ham (or canned) bacon bits (make sure they cook for awhile to get soft), add low fat cheese on top to make it extra pretty and scrumptious! Baby carrots steamed to soft, then tossed in a saute pan with some butter and sea salt and a touch of pepper, or seasonings of your choice. Yummy! I could keep going! These are things that I've been eating just more on the pureed stage but as the days get closer I am added more chunks to my food and just making sure to chew. Feel free to e-mail me more on suggestions.
   — Michawn

September 14, 2003
I'm at the same place and eating much of what the others are posting...my problem is everything is icky to me. Great...NOW, I'm ultra concerned about fats and such. :) It's good. What I've been doing to feel "normal" again is getting all of the salads I used to love eating from restaurants. I have to throw out all of the veggies but the chicken and dressing is good. Since it's hard to get all of our fats/carbs at this stage, My Dr. says to not use fat-free dressings so I can feel normal. Chicken breast can be dry so I do tend to throw some out - it would take forever to eat that much food, but I feel good eating real foods, thus getting my body used to eating real food. Early on, I had a tiny bit of chicken get stuck and I had to "bring it up" but that was a good lesson. Chew, chew, chew! Another thing that has been good for me is hot and sour soup from my favorite chinese restaurant. The pieces of tofu, shrimp and beef inside are very moist and easy to chew into mush. I don't think I am one of those who will dump on minute sugary things...I tried the meat from lettuce wraps at a couple of restaurants and that was good also. Those are all of the ideas I can think of. Mostly, I am eating low-fat cottage cheese and low fat cheese sticks. I don't love eating the above like I used to which is good but I need it to live. :) Good luck to you!
   — Donya P.

September 14, 2003
I am 5 1/2 weeks post op, and tonight for dinner I had Shrimp Scampi, and jellow with cool whip, and for lunch I had a chili cheese dog with no bun, and for breakfast I had scrambled egg with chedder cheese and hash browns. Last night I went out to dinner for the first time to a sit down restauant, and it was a mexican restauant, and I had refried beans and the inside of a burrito. Now I can only eat 1 to 2 oz's of food, but the secret is chew, chew and chew some more. I did not have this surgery to not be normal, so I am trying to be as normal as possible, last Wednesday was my grandson's birthday he was 3 y/o and we went to Chuck E Cheese pizza, and I had the cheese and pepperoni and sausage off the top of a slice of pizza. The only time that I am not drinking is 1/2 hour before eating or 1/2 hour after I eat, when I am sleeping or when I am drinking a protein shake. I still eat soft foods like tuna fish/maynasise and crackers, chili with a dap of cheez whiz and a dap of mashed potatoes in the microwave it taste like shepard pie. I have started thin sliced deli ham a couple of days ago, it is great. I am eating alittle banana and applesauce, so that I get some fruit. I have not tryed steak, chicken or salads, that will be later. I have eaten the canned chicken and I did have some very tender pork chop that was great, and some meatloaf, just chew real well, almost to mush. Good Luck
   — cindy

September 15, 2003
You should be drinking much more water by this point in your diet. Who told you to stay at 1oz every 15 mins? That is what they do in the hospital and for the first few days. You should be drinking 40 oz minimum of water a day in addition to any other liquids. Remember that feeling thirst usually means you are already slightly dehydrated and need to drink. And usually we postops are struggling with hydration issues already, so we need to drink, drink, drink!! Have you talked to your md about this?? Maybe the nutritionist needs to make this area more clear when she does the preop diet meeting! Also, my md was very strict about nothing but liquids for 3 weeks postop, then soft bland foods for 5 weeks and then we started having a "regular" diet. I know I cheated occasionally with 1 corn chip nibbled at for 15 mins or so and it was soooo good. I just needed to have different tastes in my mouth. I was so bored of the same stuff over and over too. I also started experimenting with foods that fit the diet but I wouldn't have usually tried otherwise. And I even liked some of them!! It sounds like you are going to do very well, Good Luck!!
   — Karen M.