Am I cheating?

[lil.ole.me 0]

I am 19 days out and am reading all of your posts on what you are eating. Seems i may be heading to the normal foods to soon? My Dr says to introduce soft foods on Monday but this week i have had mushed up Mac n cheese a small bit of pop tart (chewed till liquified) and pizza toppings also chewed until liquified, am i ruining my sleeve?

[goodlife 3]

I don't know if you are ruining it but I don't think those are the right things to eat during soft foods phase.

Course I'm not there yet...but the vets I'm sure will be along with some excellent advice.

[Keys Pirate 70]

well, there are two sides to this stage; some don't worry about carbs, etc., in the mushy stage because quantity is so small. Others watch carbs right from the start, myself included. You might not want to be so black and white about carbs but I think you're setting a bad precedent by already getting into pop tarts if you want to lose as much as possible as quickly as possible... pizza topping is probably a bit much for your baby stomach; cheese is hard to digest as is meat but it is low carb. You're going to have PLENTY of time to eat regular foods; just try and be patient and mushies/liquids will be a fuzzy, distant memory. Good luck and welcome aboard!

[wannalise 15]

Well, I wouldn't be so rough on myself to say I was cheating, but there are a couple of things I would probably try differently. At 19 days your tummy is still very swollen and in order to meet your bodies Protein needs to heal protein has to happen first. I wouldn't deviate from that especially during the healing phase. Secondly, and I'm still a newbie too, I looked at the phases where I built up to whole foods as an opportunity to learn new habits. I know its hard to find things that will taste good to you, but I would avoid high sugar/high carb foods. The sooner you can get them out of your normal routine, the easier things will be for you when you reintroduce whole foods again. It is tricky and boring and frustrating sometimes, but there really are options. I remember hating mushies way more than I even hated liquids, it felt like a tease, like I was kind of getting to eat! Hang in there a little longer and set a good track record for yourself.

[lil.ole.me 0]

Thanks yall, one of the problems i have (even before surgery) was that i cant stand SOFT foods, even pre op i had to put something cruncy on a PB&J because it was so soft....hence the pop tarts that need to be chewed. I figured this may be a potential problem before hand, just not sure what to eat now...if i see another can of Soup, yogurt or pudding, i am going to barf....

[wannalise 15]

I'm with you, I hate Soup. Hate it always had. I wanna chew my food. This phase was difficult for me, I used egg beaters and would make scrambled eggs 1/4c. and 1/4c of cottage or ricotta cheese in them. That was yummy to me. I also have heard several people talk about refried Beans with melted cheese and greek yogurt on top. I am so sorry! I don't have much more than that. I think this is the tough part. But you can do it, and it really will be worthwhile.

[wannalise 15]

OH!!!! And there is the yummy ricotta bake recipe that was originally on eggface's site, but I've seen it posted in our recipe section as well. I've made it and it really is yummy.

[Tiffykins 673]

I hated the mushy stage as well. But, I had to stay on it longer because I couldn't tolerate a lot of dense Protein. I wouldn't say you're cheating anything, but there maybe some better options for you.

For me, I think the post-op diet gave me the necessary "tools" to beat the food demons I had. If I would have cheated during that time, I honestly feel like I would have set myself up for bigger cheats once I got to the normal food stage, and would have not been able to stay on track. I wouldn't have been able to beat the cycle of snacking. I had to change the way I thought about food, and had to make sure I got in all my Protein and wanted to be as diligent as possible to give me the best results. I hope that makes sense.

I love crunchy, salty. I ate a lot of chicken salad during the mushy/soft food stage. I even went so far to grill a chicken breast, and then shred it up to make the chicken salad. The little crispy pieces of the chicken did have to be chewed more, but it gave me some texture. Really, we have to get creative. Once I was able to add in more carbs to my diet, I would have reduced fat wheat things or triscuits. I would scoop the chicken/tuna/egg salad on them, and I could only eat a couple, but it gave me the crunch that I mentally needed to feel satisfied.

If you like cheese, I have this great little recipe, it really helps with the crunch.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (ovens vary so watch these carefully, it will only take 5-6 minutes)

Ingredients:

1-2 cups of fresh grated hard parmesan, asiago, or romano cheese. Grate it yourself, don't buy the pre-grated stuff, it's not as fresh.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and spray very lightly with non-stick cooking spray(I use the Pam olive oil spray).

Pile 1 to 4 Tablespoons of cheese (depending on the size you want) on the baking sheet.

Flatten the tops so they are in more or less an even pile. There should be at least two inches between smaller mounds, 4 inches between larger ones.

Bake 5 to 6 minutes until they are a light golden brown (they will be a little darker at the edges). It happens fast, so watch carefully.

You can add any spices that you enjoy.

I have added garlic powder (about 1-2tsp per cup of cheese used), I also like the lemon pepper seasoning, creole seasoning, and even cinnamon with Asiago cheese and then eating them with a little whipped cream cheese.

The cheese will be crispy, but you can pretty much get it to get a mush in your mouth.

You can use any cheese, but hard cheese work the best. Soft cheeses will melt, but will not crisp up even half as much as the hard varieties. Cheddar, mozzarella and colby kind of get greasy, and mushy so try to stick with the hard cheese varieties. Gruyere, Smoked Gouda, and Swiss are nice hard cheeses, but I have not tried them with this recipe.

Of course, not everyone is as strict with their carbs, and aren't really concerned with long term changes. For me, I had to make changes that I could live with for the rest of my life. I had to relearn food choices. It takes some time so don't beat yourself over the poptart. Just stock up on better choices to get you through the times when you need something.

Edited May 7, 2010 by Tiffykins

[girldep 0]

Tiffy! That is ingenius! Yummy, like cheese chips..can't wait to try them tomorrow! Lil ole me, don't beat yourself up. I am

a crunchy kind of food girl.. I went crazy during my liquid phase.. I would chew a triscuit, spit it out and then rinse my mouth out. Yes, it's gross and I'm embarassed (sort of) but it worked for me bc it satisfied my need to chew and crunch but I did not swallow or damage my little pouch. Plus I only did it in the privacy of my own home! Good luck!

[lmmore 0]

If you want crunchy, your tummy may be able to handle Pork Rinds.........all Protein no carbs and it satisfies that snack urge. I only suggest this because when you ead them, they kind of go soft real easy I think.

[SParkle 4]

Mmmm - Tiff this is like a recipe I have for Parmesan crisps - a little pile of parmesan cheese done the same way.... great for a side with a salad or Soup, and as its a strong cheese they satisfy with smaller portions.

Kathy

[imagine.dream.inspire 0]

I am 19 days out and am reading all of your posts on what you are eating. Seems i may be heading to the normal foods to soon? My Dr says to introduce soft foods on Monday but this week i have had mushed up Mac n cheese a small bit of pop tart (chewed till liquified) and pizza toppings also chewed until liquified, am i ruining my sleeve?

I don't think that you're cheating, but I do think that your stomach needs time to heal and you should be gentle with it. Mac/Cheese, Pop-tart, and pizza are all yummy options but not the best food choices. The surgery is simply a tool, you still have to change your eating habits. Its hard, believe me, I know, but that is how you will be successful long term. Feed your body good foods. Of course, you can still have the pizza and poptarts once in a while, but it shouldn't be an everyday thing.

[lil.ole.me 0]

Thanks everyone! After i posted and actually SEEN what i was eating and i realized too, there are healthier options that can crunch. SOOOO spent most of my time at the grocery this weekend hunting for better options....got some shrimp salad, chicken salad, flaky crab meat, and edamame. I also called my Dr the afternoon of my posts and they also gave me some options to get in Protein (also having a hard time with that). Sooooo THANK YOU everyone for being so kind as to not criticize but encourage! YOU PEOPLE ROCK!!!!

PS Recipe for decent amount of protein...

1 scoop SF Carnation instant Breakfast

1 scoop Non Fat Instant Dry Milk

1 cup non fat skim milk

Mix and drink-OR freeze for thirty minutes and eat with a spoon.

18 grams of protein!

[BJean 16]

Frankly anything that Tiffy suggests should be golden words for me since she's had such amazing success. Those little mounds of crunchy cheese sound delicious.

I am not to the point yet where I crave crunchy. And I'm definitely a crunchy food lover. Today I get to try tuna and salmon and I'm really excited. It even says I can have a few saltines so lunch is going to be a treat.

I have only eaten things on my meal plan and when I tallied up the count last night I had eaten a whopping 995 calories! Everything is sugar free and low cal. I just had a day where I couldn't stop eating every couple of hours. And I learned real quick that a few Beans with a little cheese on top really runs up the calorie count. At first they were worth it, but I can have a whole glass of skim milk and Protein powder and have less than half the calories of a small amount of Beans and cheese. This is a learning process, for sure!