So I've been told that I have to be on this liquid diet for twoweeks after surgery. My post-op exam went well, and I was told that I couldslowly migrate from liquids, to soft foods, to regular foods before my firstfill. I have fallen into this ‘hungry’ stage, where it feels like I don’t evenhave a band. I wish my PA or doctor would have told me to expect this, becauseI feel that this could cause problems adjusting to ‘real’ food. If I don’t haveany restriction when I drink my liquids, and none when I eat my soft foods, Icould become complacent and not pay attention to me chewing my food. Just myworry, because I’ve read the articles and blogs of others who have experiencedthis, and who were reminded that they do indeed have the band, when they getfood stuck.

I've decided to accelerate and push myself early.

I decided to do this because I feel that I'm healing very well,and very quickly from the surgery. The surgery went well, and I'm back at worknow full time. Although I'm pushing it with the food, I’m still taking it veryeasy with the weight I lift, although I still walk about thirty to sixtyminutes each day.

The past few days I’ve been experimenting with the soft foods.Namely cheeses. Oh what a joy it was to eat cheese after all those shakes. Lastnight was my first night going out to a restaurant. I’ve tried to avoid thatuntil I was totally comfortable, and confident in my new eating abilities, butit came as a surprise. Up until then, I only had eaten cheeses and a few soycrisps. Always keeping within my protein, fat and carb intake. I was fortunateenough to go to a restaurant that had a ‘carb friendly’ selection! So, I ordereda bacon cheeseburger with salad. It came without the bun. I ate a couple leavesof lettuce from the salad, making sure I chewed very well. A couple times I gotengrossed in conversation, and swallowed a large bit of lettuce. I was panickythere for a moment, but all was well. I had to remind myself to chew chew chew.The burger came and it was wonderful. I didn’t eat the whole thing, although Ithink I could have. What I realized was that by chewing slowly, I took a longtime to eat. So I was only half way done with my meal when everyone was anxiousto get the check. I didn’t feel full. I also didn’t drink anything with dinner.My first time trying that. (I personally think that is going to be the hardestthing for me to get over, as I always have drinks with meals.) Once I got backinto my car, I did feel full. That lasted for a few hours. I just wondered whyit took about ten more minutes for me to feel that way. Again, the hardest partwas trying not to drink anything after the meal. I failed. I keep a full water bottlein my car, and I stopped myself from drinking from it twice, but the third timeI wasn’t even paying attention and had a few gulps. Oh well. I’ll keep ontraining myself.

Today/this morning. I feel great. What I noticed about the surgeryis that the scars/cuts were what hurt most during the past week. Either whenthey get rubbed up against something, or when they snag on a t-shirt. Today,nothing. I can feel them from outside my shirt, but no mild pain at all.

Instead of a shake today for lunch, I went out and bought some veggiebuffalo wings! A nice little treat to get away from the shakes. To top it off,one serving is a lot less than a shake in all regards (carbs, calories, fat,protein), that if they don’t fill me up, then I can have a half a shake andstill keep within my eating plan.

I’m definitely not a vegan in any sense, but I thought I’d pick up some veggiestuff for my ‘soft’ foods stage. I’ll let you know how they taste.