Goop

I did this just yesterday for the first time and don't see much wrong with it (It was a bite of pepperoni off of a pizza, hehe). It should be fine long as it's just to help get through a phase of your diet and not something you're doing specifically for weight loss. I can't quite explain the logic, but not wanting to hurt your band seems to be quite a bit different intention that fearing the caloric effects. With lap-banders, I don't see how this could be a step to bulemia, because I wouldn't believe anyone would swallow anything that they'll force themselves to throw it up. Similarly, pre-op, because I was on a clear liquid diet for 1 month, I was told I could have sugar free gum. I've never chewed gum to any great degree, but just having flavor and chewing something was psychologically fulfilling. Of course post-op, you need to stay the heck away from gum for fear of swallowing that and having it clog your pouch. But gum is something you chew, taste, and spit out, so I don't see how this is a problem with other food so long as it's to help you get through a dietary phase and not as part of regular post-op life. As gonnabethin mentioned, as a recent post-op who is doing this sometimes, I expect I'll look back in a month and roll my eyes. I really, really don't expect to be tasting and spitting out food after I can eat solids again.

I had surgery over 2 weeks ago, and am on a clear liquid diet plus Protein and a decent Vitamin regiment. I'll be on the liquid diet for 3 more weeks (it should be 2, but the doc is on vacation). Prior to surgery, I was on this stupid diet for over a month, and a low-food diet before that. So I'm dying here, and it's driving me nuts that other people with other surgeons can have liquified food after 2 weeks. It doesn't make sense to me that I can have Protein shakes with pureed ice, or Jello or strained Soup, or my gritty "vitamin soup," but I can't have pureed, just as liquidy, regular food. Oh yeah, and I got permission to add tabasco to my bland food right now as well. I'm not talking about throwing a hamburger in the blender, but like dilluted, pureed chicken soup. Also, my pre-op diet was an exception. Normally, my surgeon has people do a week of the liquid diet, but I was told rather off-hand to do a month. Post-op, others with the same surgeon have been able to start blended food after 2 weeks or so, but normally the surgeon doesn't have that "phase", but jumping straight to soft foods after the 1st fill at a month. So is there any harm in cheating with blended soup? As I understand it, the post op diet is all about avoiding pressure and irritation. Well, blended soup won't irritate my stomach any more than the strained as I'm eating it now, and if it's as liquidy as a shake, then what's the problem? I'm losing weight really damn fast as well (My regular doc is actually a little concerned I'm losing too fast).

Thank you very, very much for the replies. I tell ya, I'm impressed with you guys. Anyway, I decided to have some pureed soup, with double the amount of liquid, and damn it was so good. Really, I don't think that was a big deal in retrospect, because I can have homemade "strained" soup, and this stuff would definitely have been able to go through a strainer. But I think I'll heed all of your advice and not going to go any further until I talk to someone at the office or at least a fellow patient of the same surgeon. Maybe there's some slight variations in the procedure that would justify such vastly different nutritional plans... but I doubt it. It's funny, because I was great through Thanksgiving and Christmas, but that's when I believed there were a purpose to the diet. Now, the difference is that I don't see the purpose, and man that really screws with your psyche. Pre-op, there was cause for the liquid diet, which is that they wanted me to shrink my liver (the fat pads, that is. I don't have any liver problem). That and my stomach was probably the size of a trash bag, and it too has a fat layer. Of course, he didn't actually tell me that I was going to be on a different, extreme program and explain why, so this is me putting together the information after the fact. So, I lost 50+ pounds. The weird thing about that is that I was losing weight pretty fast on a low-carb diet, so the idea that he switched me to the "nothing at all" diet a month before surgery seemed excessive. But, hey, apparently fatty livers can cause the surgery to be longer, trickier, and more dangerous. I can undestand that. However, I wish my doctor would have just asked how easily I can lose weight on my own and said "Pick what works for you, but you need to lose 50 pounds" and I would have done it. Otherwise, I was told I'm in "excellent health for my weight." No comorbidities, normal BP, and I'm a 27 year old male. My regular doctor, who is also an internist, thinks I'm losing weight too fast. I lost 9 pounds last week, he wants to see 2.5/week max. That reminds me, I have a few recipes from the doc's office that are for the "clear liquid diet" and they allow diet V8, clamato (yuck), and non-creamy broths or "strained soup." I also recall the nutrition class mentioning tomato soup, saying it's fine if you dilute it or somehow magically find one that's like 6g of sugar per cup. Hooray!:woot: So that does seem to justify me just blending some regular soup, as long as it's liquidy enough and low-sugar. Yeah, my clothes are becoming a pain. I was walking around last night with friends for New Years, and had to hold up my pants with one hand the entire time. This exact pair of pants was perfectly tight around my waist just months ago. I am amazed, but then what are you going to do when you're eating 2 calories of broth every meal but lose weight insanely fast?