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I am 16 days post off and on soft foods now. Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt have been working well. I tried some eggs with feta cheese and refried beans and I feel like those kind of hurt digesting in my stomach, although I'm back at work now walking a mile to and from train so maybe the increased activity is causing the uncomfortableness but idk. Anybody else feel painful in the lower belly area when transitioning to soft foods?

First GL with the surgery. I had mine done 2 weeks before my hubby came home from being deployed so I can feel ya on deployment. As for a long drive be careful! About 3 weeks after my surgery we had to make a 6 hour drive for my daughters gymnastics meet. The way there, I was golden. On the way home, had my hubby not been with us to drive we would have had to stay a few nights. I suddenly got sick the day of her meet a reaction to a medicine they had put me on. We had to stop often and I was living on zofran. Make sure you have plenty of protein and water. In addition to my protein drinks I also brought dannon light and fit yogurt drink. It "filled" me up more than just a reg protein shake, so I use them as snacks. Someone mentioned maybe postponing surgery till after the deployment, I am going to say, while the trip to Williamsburg could be hard, if you have your mom with you then really I think you will be just fine. My mom was supposed to stay with me for a week after my surgery- after my pain got under control I sent her home within 4 days of me being home. As a milso you probably know that whole "I can take care of myself" thing LOL

Thanks for your input! Honestly today is the last day of my liquid diet and I just got my first protein shake down today, with the advice of fellow sleepers above. Lol. So for most of the liquid diet I did just what you did and yes, I was very weak and tried. Tried to slip protein powder into yogurt and pudding wherever I could. But tomorrow I start purées foods and I’m hoping for more opportunity to get protein from foods and make shakes a thing of the past. I know our tastes may change after surgery and it seems mine definitely have! Thanks for the reassurance that I’m not alone

I love your dress and those shoes are amazing. I'm doing ok. I'm going to be having an EGD because I have an off and on again stomach pain/upset since surgery. I haven't got the date yet until they get the approval. I will let you know what I find out. I'm at 251 and have lost 87 pounds. I feel like I should have lost more, but probably am waiting too much. Last night I ate a whole croissant with no ill feeling. If eat chicken it hurts after a few bites. I try to stick to soft proteins. Yogurt is the easiest on my stomach. I still have tons of restriction, but am finding I can graze a bit. I'm still trying to be very mindful of what I eat. I am at a BMI of 39.9 which is just below morbid obesity. I still have a long way to go. I really hope it get there by 18 months. My dr and I will go over my options at 12 months to see if i need/want a revision to DS. I'm having so much lose skin and would consider doing my arms. I carry my weight in my upper half of my body and have way smaller legs. I guess we all have our problem areas. Mine is my arms, breasts and stomach. You're looking good! How much do you have to lose to goal? I'm at a spot that most people started. But, overall I feel pretty amazing! Take care! Stay in touch. 💗

Absolutely check with your doc. I asked mine about travelling 4 hours by car for a 2 night stay that was 10 days post op. At first he hesitated but when I told him it was to celebrate my daughters engagement he said ok just stop every hour or so and walk around. We made one stop going and one on the way back as I was sure to walk plenty before and after the ride as well as the stop. I packed my cooler for the weekend with my shakes, yogurt and water, I thankfully had no problems. Be well, good luck to you and thank your husband for his service.

I have 1 more week of the full liquid diet. How did you make it through. I am really wanting some else other than protein drink, yogurt, jell-o , popsicles and broth. Help please Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I use unflavored isopure in many of my recipes (puddings, yogurts, soups, even meatloaf etc) to give myself an additional protein boost where I can. For the most part I am drinking premier and six star protein as mentioned above - in the premade, single serve shakes. I am looking to spice it up a bit since I am starting to get bored with the flavors I have had so far.

Yes. At first every sweet sip of a protein shake made me nauseous. Then I tried the injury soups, which worked at first, but then did the same. My surgeon offered me anti nausea medication that I know take once a day, but I now have moved to the approved foods for later stages just to get some calories in- such a refried beans, melted cheese, yogurt, eggs. I’m sure I’ll get scolded at my next appointment, but I was getting weak from not eating anything

Yogurt and cottage cheese were my first choices

Thanks! I am going to bring along yogurt and cottage cheese. It sure beats protein shakes all day long! Thank-you!

You *could* delay starting purees and continue liquids until you return because new food stages are tricky when it comes to digestion/bathroom habits (but 4hrs is not a very long trip) Yogurt and cottage cheese is very accessible/easy to eat on the fly when traveling Have a great trip 💚

I didn't have to do purees - went straight to softs. But in my full liquids phase here is what I thrived on. It helps with hunger to keeps carbs to 20g or less per day. Swearsies. 1. Cottage Cheese or ricotta (ricotta bake from WorldAccordingToEggface blog) 2. Foil wrapped tilapia and basa filets with lemon 3. Chicken or tuna or salmon salad blitzed to a puree (pate) consistency with lots of Greek yogurt and dijon mustard to make it super creamy and smooth. You can even lighten it up with ff Fairlife Milk. 4. Cream soups with extra protein powder added to them. (Did this A LOT!! Made every flavor you can think of: pizza, alfredo, mexican, asian, etc.) 5. Blended soups/stews to a puree. 6. SF jello with yogurt (still love it) 7. SF popsicles 8. Protein pudding (SF jello pudding made with Premier Protein and FF Fairlife Milk) 9. Green smoothies made with protein powder, frozen spinach, frozen blueberries, peanut butter powder, liquid stevia. 10. Roasted Smashed Cauliflower puree with greek yogurt, nutritional yeast, and herbs. Same thing with canned pumpkin.

When I was in that stage I drank protein shakes and protein water so I was able to have some non-protein 2 oz. meals. Hummus Smashed banana Premade mashed potatoes (I don't eat them now, but when I was getting like 300 calories a day I did.) Yogurt Mashed avocado Also, for me, thirsty can seem like hungry, so make sure you are staying hydrated. Good luck!

I had a hard time finding protein I could tolerate, texture, flavor, and that didn’t have added iodine. I couldn’t tolerate isopure zero or premier protein clear they felt like they coated my throat in hair. I didn’t care for syntrax, I was hoping I would. The smell of isopure plain was nauseating alone. 100% whey protein isolate didn’t agree with me. Ones I found worked for me are for powder mix I used PEScience Select. So far I liked cookies and cream, peanut butter cookie but they have other flavors that look good. For RTD labrada lean body is good I especially like salted caramel, banana is good too if I need quick protein from the grocery I get Boost Max if I want a non dairy protein in RTD I get Koia. The cinnamon horchata is the best. I like to mix my protein powders in either unsweetened Ripple milk, unsweetened Edensoy, or TwoGood yogurt since they add more protein. (For breakfast) My mom bought me performix io whey protein powder in banana nutello flavor to try. Everyones taste is different. Also BariatricPal has quite a selection of juice flavor protein mixes, hot cocoa and cappuccinos with protein, protein bullion’s and soups. The protein shots also come in handy for post op when you can’t drink a lot. I wish I had them then.

I'm sorry to hear of your dad's looming surgery. Glad you are calling a doc today. In my personal experience, it takes weeks or months to see a specialist. You can't find anything, cuz your situation is pretty abnormal. Most people who throw up that often and regularly know to get it checked out. You most likely have stricture, but only medical tests and imaging is gonna show what condition you're dealing with. If you have to go back to protein drinks and thinned down yogurt, you will quickly lose any regain, but it isn't a fun type of eating for sure. I'd also try pureeing soups and stews and keep it very liquidy to see if you can handle any meat proteins. Try blending egg drop soup and see how it goes down. That's the texture you should aim for. But you have to be sure you are getting all of your protein in, so make sure to have protein drinks. What you are describing is a serious situation. I am not being tough-love. I'm being pragmatic. Letting a problem of this magnitude continue for 1.5 years+ is not normal. There must be a payout for that behavior. In 1.5 years of daily throwing up sometimes multiple times a day, you could have done crap tons of damage to your anatomy (Barret's Esophagus, Esophagitis, pre-cancerous cells, esophageal erosion, ulcers, hernias, strictures, webbing, esophageal spasms, and more fun.) At that point I would say your behavior is bulimic in nature. There is always a payout with aberrant behaviors.

Forgot to post these but since I'm back in the states... Let me tell you: Canada loves 🍟 *So I had a few... literally 😂 these are the after photos* BF and I decided to only order things he'll enjoy eating because its a waste otherwise (Not pictured: the yogurt I ate while walking to the restaurant knowing I likely wouldn't really eat anything ordered 😉)

You can have strained Greek yogurt under 100 calories Dannon lite and fit is 80. You mix it with the fruit on the bottom and I use a tea strainer and spoon the yougurt through and it keeps the small pieces of fruit out but you get to maintain the flavor. You can have sugar free pudding, sugar free jello, and the outshine fruit bars. Fat free milk with Nectar. Decafe coffee with nectar with fat free milk or fat free half and half. Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I completely blanked on this....I literally am having a hard time remembering things lately..to the point it is a bit embarrassing. Ironically, when they told me to start on real foods, P3's were mentioned and while I had a huge adverse reaction to scrambled eggs in the soft food phase, one of the easiest things for me to eat and keep down out of the P3 packs were actually the nuts! It is SO weird how different everyone's experience with certain foods can be. I literally sometimes gag when I'm eating lunch meat type items..and even cheese..I start to get nauseated after eating about 3 or 4 cubes..but the nuts..no nausea, no vomiting, no pain. Often I leave a few chunks of both meat and cheese uneaten in my P3 packs. I did keep to soft food phase today though. Nothing sounds good but my stomach is letting me know..my pouch...that it would like something more than 1/2 a protein shake. I'm out of cottage cheese but am grabbing a carbmaster yogurt. Thanks for your continued input. Truly didn't mean to disregard your wise advice. I think my brain is clogged sometimes I'll give my dr's plan a try - the carbs are definitely all what I call 'low glycemic impact ones' and I have at times during my intense 15 months of keto (I say intense as I was continually keeping carbs under 20 grams), sometimes when I'd stall, eaten/added some healthy carbs for a day...and then the scale would move again.

Ok, so I think I told you yesterday after the vomiting thing to go back a phase or 2 for a couple of days? Why on earth would you eat a P3 with nuts in it? In the early days, nuts were one of THE hardest things for me to handle? LOL. Going back a phase means, you go back to yogurt and protein drinks and maybe cottage cheese until your tummy is able to heal a little again. It's usually a couple of days. No wonder you didn't feel like eating. He has you on a Zone macro plan: 30 30 40 only he's flipping the protein and carbs so that protein is 40%. For your size, 74-75g is about the target protein amount especially in the early days. It's called the moderation approach, but the intention is to use those carbs for good. Only healthy carbs. You will have to experiment and see if that allows you to lose. It should as long as you stay at or below the 800cal deck. It should also confer metabolic reset for you. Dr. Michael Mosely wrote a book about the research from a UK scientist/dr. who reversed patients' diabetes on a 800cal diet that had a bunch of plant based carbs in it--and more Mediterranean style eating. It was called the 8 Week Diet Cure (I think--on Amazon--good book.) You can't customize macros beyond P/F/C in the free MFP version. So you just have to choose to track sugar as one of your 5 macros and keep an eye out for it yourself. Hope you are feeling better today. Take it easy on your food choices.

lentils, black beans, kidney beans, white beans edamame, tofu, miso chia seeds, hemp hearts, almonds/walnuts/pecans, pumpkin/sesame/sunflower seeds, nutbutters of all kinds yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, whey protein supps/protein bars, protein mug cake leafy greens, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, bean sprouts, okra, eggplant, tomatoes edamame spaghetti, shirataki noodles with tofu Hate when that happens!

I am SO sick of chicken, actually I’m sick of eating so much meat. I’ve hit a culinary wall. I went through a 3+ month phase of wanting everything to be spicy, now even medium spicy is overwhelming to me. I’m such a picky eater, (texture & taste) it’s hard for me to think of alternative recipes and sources of protein. I won’t eat cheese, (except melted mozzarella mixed with something ) yogurt, mayo, avocado or sour cream to name a few. Cheeseburgh is a combo of being from Wisconsin (aka cheesehead) while I was living in Pittsburgh. Anyone have ideas? Maybe lentils would be good.

I use a natural vanilla flavored one for my smoothies and yogurt. But that's pretty yucky in soups or broth. So I found that pea protein really complements the flavors of soups, so I use it in savory recipes.

Thanks for responding, Fluffy, especially with such a well-thought out post. I understand now that I may be 'too early' in the process. I'm such a slow loser and am hitting multiple stalls...that I was looking for anything I could do that would help. I have started tracking my food/water/liquids intake in the myfitness tool now that I was given macros by my dr's office but their plan has me consuming more carbs than I am comfortable with as I'm a big keto devotee and I lose better when I keep carbs low as a general rule. I did 'Atkin's' way back in the day and lost 80 lbs and kept it off for a decade. I restarted a keto WOL 15 months before having surgery as this way of eating helps my body feel better. Now I'm wondering should I follow dr's plan & not attempt to modify to be lower carb...unsure if only being 2 mos post op if my body would prefer that...but having had this body for a number of yrs (lol), I have such a difficult time losing weight...period. Usually it comes off much faster when I keep carbs below 20 ideally...or 30 for a stretch. Below is your list and I just wanted to put my responses in but I get what you are saying about it being too early for me to do IF. I'm hoping some of the things on your list that I'm already doing will have me better prepared should I go down the IF route later in this process: 1. FOLLOW your doc's and RD's plan for you and the stage you're eating at. You MUST be able to easily get the required protein in per day that they prescribe for you. And the amount of fluids you're told to consume. 2. Follow the rules of WLS. No eating drinking 15/30 or 30/30 depending your doc's plan. 3. Get ALL of your daily Vitamins in without skipping a single dose. I've been fortunate that I haven't had an issue with this even directly after surgery 4. Get to walking. And maybe even get to doing core strengthening exercises. Started hiking with youngest daughter several weeks ago. We've been consistent to this day. We currently do 2 x's a week and are looking to increase this but waiting for temperatures to cool down so we can do so..I also swim in my pool a couple times a week. 5. Protein first at every meal/snack >> al dente veggies >> a tiny bit of healthy fats (and that's it). Protein always first, especially since I'm only 2 mos post-op. If protein goes down ok, then I eat whatever veggie if i have one. 6. Cut out ALL C.R.A.P. (google it)--that means no sugar, grains, starchy root veg, starches, refined products, fake stuff, "treats" such as Protein Bars or Water drops. Severely limit the use of sugar substitutes. Did this 17 mos ago when I embraced keto WOL although I never believed in enormous intake of fat so my version had fats limited to ones that are healthier. I tended during this time to stay away from protein bars but if in a desperate pinch as I had a bad habit of not eating regularly (working so much I'd forget to eat, etc.) I might have one. I was a big user of artificial sweeteners during this period although I kept an eye on the research about them possibly causing hunger and many other things about them. Currently my limitation is 2 to 3 packets of splenda (or another fake sugar) a day in my post-op world. 7. Start drinking green tea now (I use decaff) and look into Earl Grey Tea. Ironically I just got a tea brew bottle and a pack of..I think it is green tea in a subscription box that I get. 8. Try to keep your carbs to <30g net per day (subtract Fiber grams of carbs from the total carb count to get net carbs. Yes, I'm a big believer in this! Trying to figure out how to fight myfitness pal as it does not have food listed in its DB, from what little I've seen, with net carb count. I may have to hand add all my stuff 9. No "snacking". Eat 3 meals + 1-3 small mini meals per day in order to limit meal portions to the volume recommended by your doctor and to reach your protein totals each day. A mini meal is an organized, orderly, planned event. Snacking is not. Snacking is hedonistic and reckless and it's possible to do a lot of damage with a single snack event. Since I'm 2 months post-op..this is usually covered although I am not yet this structured as I'm still having occasional issues at mealtime. My mini-meals are not yet planned, thought out events. Well, it's more like I know I will have a carbmaster yogurt in between my breakfast premier protein shake and my next 'meal' which is always an intake of real protein (i.e. meat that I can tolerate and is not a fatty meat). I also will parse out 7 almonds, etc. I think where I'm at is more like 'practicing for where I need to be'? I DID find myself recently..and it is always late at night as often don't eat my 1st meal of the day until almost 11 AM...going to get sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles but I was NOT hungry. It is old habits trying to creep back in. Was really upset that I started to 'go there'..this is a very slippery slope for me! 10. Aim to get 2-3oz of protein per meal (lean dense protein, no casseroles, no deeply satisfying gooey cheesy high reward meals. Keep is simple: grilled chicken, sauteed chicken, poached or sauteed fish, etc. No meat lube or stuff that adds to the pleasure of the food experience. My protein meals are much like what you said. Haven't had a casserole yet...wait, I did. It was shredded chicken I made in crockpot with chicken broth,fat free cream cheese and salsa..but no cheese involved. It is one of the few ways I can get 'moist' chicken. The macros do fit into my keto version including keeping the fat down more than most keto plans.

@Panda333 I did the exact same thing. The yogurt is tricky...I said to myself today is new day..we got this!! 😁

@Panda333 I understand, I didn't do well yesterday either with the yogurt. Starting over today. I am sorry to hear about your bronchitis, I hope the steroids work. My pre-opt diet doesn't allow any meat or veggies. Really no food just liquids.