Question:
I'm scared to eat.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but when I eat I get so full it's uncomfortable. It takes all my energy to wait a few minutes until the food passes into my intestines from the pouch. I was just fine with the clear liquid diet but I know I have to progress. I'm 3 weeks post op and when I look at the clock or when my husband asks "what are you going to eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner" I get the feeling like Oh Lord it's that time again. The food smells good and all but I know it's going to hurt. I actually measure my food and I still can't get in that 1/4 protein and 1/4 starch/veggie/fruit. And meats are a killer no matter what it is (well, canned tuna in water isn't too bad) but everything else sits like a stone. I'm supposed to progress to soft foods and I don't think I'm doing very well with pureed (for example, a few bites of turkey pureed with gravy and I feel like it's sitting in my throat and I won't be better until I either vomit or wait a few hours and it goes down eventually). Don't fuss about the gravy, all meat to me is too dry unless I put SOMETHING wet with it. How long after surgery was it before you could tolerate ANYTHING (I'm glad I have dogs for all the leftovers I've been tossing, what a waste!) I get in about 400-500 calories (except one day I did eat an english muffin, I guess that put me up to still less than 700 calories and I lost a pound). I've been at a stand still for weight for a little over a week. I did lose now 24 pounds after surgery, so I can't complain too much but where is this drastic weight loss?? Hugs Terri — tinky471 (posted on January 1, 2004)
January 1, 2004
Well, I'm one of those wackos that is not of the protein first thinking. I
get my protein via supplement and that takes care of it. Why not build
your successes slowly. For example, 2 oz cottage cheese. Fix it up the way
that tastes good and in 15 minutes you're done. Or bake a small potato,
measure out about 2 oz of that (the way you like it) and again, in 15
minutes, you're done. Try some well cooked veggies. Same concept. 2 oz, 15
minutes. Try doing that 4-5 times per day, working the water in between.
We started on 1 oz per meal, til goal wt. And well, it couldn't hurt,
right? You can go after the protein foods LATER. Gravy doesn't scare me,
since we malabsorb some fats/oils. Now, if it was made with milk (sugar),
that would make me nervous. for now, try really small volume. Eensy small.
— vitalady
January 1, 2004
ok, when i was at your stage, I was no where near meats and such..it was
all soft foods until week 6 ( I lasted until week 5, then I needed
something solid)...but I lived off string cheese, cottage cheese, mashed
potatoes pudding, oatmeal, creamed soup, etc... There is no need to be at
meat yet,you're still brand new! eat soft foods, don't worry so much about
protein, as just getting some food and nutrition in. You can drink protein
shakes for extra protein.
— thekatinthehat
January 1, 2004
At 3 weeks post-op, it's a little soon for meats. Your pouch is still
healing. Try cottage cheese, soups, cooked cereals, soft veggies, soft
fruits and get your protein from supplements. When I added meats, I was
much further out. I added shellfish first, then tuna and other fish. It
took a while before I could tolerate chicken, beef and pork. Give yourself
time.
— Cathy S.
January 1, 2004
Terri, get out of my head. I had surgery December 8th. I am having a
heard time on softs. I'm getting in on a good day two meals a day plus
some of the water I'm supposed to get in. I'm NO WHERE NEAR 400-500
calories *I wish*. As I type I'm eating 2oz of plain yogurt and I'm
halfway through and feel like I've eaten a plate full of food piled high.
Protein? What the heck is that? I'm nowhere near the required protein
amounts either. I feel like I'm suffering after I eat and who wants to
feel like that. I plan on sending my nutritionist an email later to day to
ask her what I should do. I know not eating enough throughout the days can
slow the progress of weight loss. I'm trying to do better at eating the
5-6 small meals because I didn't do all of this not to lose, and I have a
LOT to lose. Maybe you should contact your nutritionist as well. You
never know what helpful suggestions *besides the one given above, btw I've
been trying the 2oz every meal thing and it hasn't worked for me but I
suggest you try it anyway since everyone is different.* Good luck and have
a happy healthy new year.
— Niobe
January 1, 2004
Take a breath...you're still healing! You can get your protein by using
liquid supplements if you are really worried about that, but really at this
time you should just be concentrating on healing that new pouch of yours.
Cottage cheese is a good protein choice as well as eggs (which I still have
a hard time tolerating if they are dry). I drink at least one protein drink
a day (I swear by a product called Ampilify which is the best protein drink
of all time) which gives me a head start (30 grams) on getting my 60 grams
of protein in each day. When I was still pretty new I would eat Wendy's
Chili with cheese or Taco Bell Pintos and Cheese if I was out and needed to
grab something for lunch. If you are sensitive to spices you might want to
skip the chili and the red sauce on the pintos and cheese. Luckily, I have
an iron stomach as far as spicy foods are concerned so I tolerated the
above really well at 5-6 weeks out. I used my food processor a lot that
first couple of months and used a lot of chicken broth to moisten any meat
that I ate. You are going to have days where nothing goes down good and you
are going to get frustrated; it's okay, it's just part of the whole
process. Keep chewing your multivitamin, taking your calcium, drinking your
64 oz of water and know that it's going to get easier the farther out you
get.
— Michelle R.
January 1, 2004
At three weeks post-op I have entered the pureed stage. I can't begin to
do regular food until I am six weeks post-op. I am still doing protein
shakes and they will remain an important part of my daily protein
requirement when I get to regular foods because I intend to concentrate on
getting in fiber and other such important things in the way of regular
food. I agree that the food smells good about now, but I know my pouch is
not ready for that stage yet. So, don't fret about having to do all that
just yet. Let how your pouch feels guide you at this stage. It does not
surprise me that you would need to use gravy to make something go down
right at this stage either. Take care of that pouch and it will take care
of you. Sandra
— Arizona_Sun
January 2, 2004
Hi Terri, I am 17 days post-op lap RNY. I was on clear liquids for the
first week and lost 17 pounds then I started with the protein shakes.
Around the middle of last week my mind started revolting against anything
fruit flavored (juice, Jello, sf popsicles etc.) I started drinking more
broth and handled that pretty well. I too was dreading my next meal for a
while but for some reason I haven't experienced the uncomfortable
"full" feeling yet. Earlier this week I started myself on soft
foods. I've had Minestrone soup, chicken noodle soup, cheese, mashed
potatoes, scrambled eggs w/cheese & thin pieces of chopped ham and last
night I had some salad and a 1 inch piece of pizza from Imos. I don't feel
full right away and I eat real slow because I am waiting and searching for
that full feeling. I have experienced a mild dumping each time I try
regular food but I just get light headed, maybe a headache and I feel
really really tired. It passes in about 20-30 minutes though. Second week
after surgery after starting the protein shakes my weight didn't budge and
I was wondering the same thing as you. In the past few days my body
started objecting to the chocolate flavored protein shakes and now they
make me ill. I also started to exercise a little and I think the scale is
starting to go down again. I have not tried pureed meat yet. I was told to
wait until 4 weeks post-op to do that, I guess because it's harder to
digest. Maybe you could try switching to soups, eggs & cheese, all
pretty decent in protein and easier to digest. It might not hurt as much.
Good luck w/your journey!
— boonikki29
January 2, 2004
What I had to do at this stage was time my bites for 3 minutes and chew
chew chew. I bought a 3 minute egg time. Take a bite, fip the timer, when
the sand runs out, take another bite. Easting slwer helped me realize how
much I could eat at a time (not much) and to slow down so the food didn't
get stuck and make me feel rotten. Very solid foods - like meat and bread
always weighed me down and made me hurt no matter how slow I ate it, now I
can eat anything. When it does hurt, the best thing to do was the opposite
of what you want to do - go walk. It helped the food move faster and
laying down made the food hurt my pouch more.
— Heather M.
January 2, 2004
I think 24 pounds in 3 weeks IS a drastic weight loss! You are doign
GREAT!!!!! I am 11 months out and I still have times when my food does me
this way..... But it REALLY did it when I was a very new post op.... I
tried everything, chewing and chewing some more.... not eating till I felt
full... nothing helped... most of the time I had to go to bed for about 30
minutes after I ate something.... I dont know what causes it, but there are
times I still do it... Im sorry I dont have an answer or a quick fix, but I
just wanted you to know you are not alone! Take care and keep up the GREAT
work!!!!!!!!! 24 pounds in 3 weeks is TERRIFIC!!!!!
— rebecca J.
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