I need help friends

[Rev Me Up! 75]

I agree with what everyone said here - the bottom line is that your tummy is going to be very picky for a while. You may try something one week and it does not go down well and then you can try it again the next week and it will be perfectly fine. It is true that, once you find a couple of foods that are kind to you, that is all you should eat for a few days. I ate nothing but cottage cheese with various mix-ins for almost 2 weeks. By the end I was dead tired of cottage cheese, but it worked.

I will also say (and some people may not agree) that you shouldn't worry about fat content in milk right now. If you love whole milk and you are starving, then drink whole milk. There are some folks out there that can't stomach Protein drinks at all and rely on drinking milk for hydration and Protein. When you are really not eating much, the fat content is not as important, unless the fat makes your stomach upset.

The first meat I could eat was sliced deli turkey. I rolled it up with a little cream cheese and could eat about half of it. It took 20 minutes - don't forget to CHEW. It will save you from possible problems.

Take care--

Lara

[NtvTxn 1,262]

My 2.5 yr old grandson's doctor said nobody over the age of 2 needs whole milk. He was put on skim at age 2. I think now is the time to change. We are in the honeymoon period, there is no time like the present. Life changes should have started months before surgery. With that said, my dietitian said we could drink skim or 1%. I switched to skim over the course of a year seventeen years ago. We went to 2%, 1% and then skim. It was a painful transition with the two children, but I had control and they adjusted!!

I could NOT do the Protein drinks...ugh, I tried several pre-op and couldn't find one I liked, so I drank the Protein bullets from GNC. The dietitian said that anyone that couldn't find something could drink the sugar free Carnation Instant Breakfast and for an extra boost of protein you can add a scoop of powdered milk. Just an FYI.

[Mystee 2]

I forgot to add that with Soup I would blender in chicken breast and roasted ( soft) veggies too. Made it thicker, plus extra Protein and nutrients. Just watch for chunks

I was sleeved the same on 4/11 and am having a hard time with food and Water consumtion as well. One thing I found which tastes awesome and has Protein is LF Black Bean Soup from Panera's. They are a little pricy for $5 a bowl but it lasts me for at least 3 meals. It taste great and will have Fiber to counter act the cheese and has protein and whole bowl is 170 divided by 3 so not bad. They have a little high carbs but alot of that is Fiber. It's been a saving grace for me.

[BeachWithMyBabies 24]

If you love whole milk and you are starving, then drink whole milk. There are some folks out there that can't stomach Protein drinks at all and rely on drinking milk for hydration and Protein.

I agree with Lara. The most important thing right now is getting your nutrients and hydration up. If whole milk will do that, do it for a week and see how you are feeling. You can always slowly step it down from whole back to 1% (I hate non-fat - I call it cow spit!) Your body is making a huge adjustment already. Puree up those hot dogs with a little cheese. Try a hard boiled egg blended with some tuna/salmon/canned chicken to make a puree that's high in protein. Just make the next week focused on things that taste good to you, that you can keep down, and have a high water/fluid content. I think you'll be golden! Keep up your amazing work. Your stick-to-it attitude is inspirational. You are doing everything right for you.

[Jane_J 117]

I know 3 and 1/2 weeks is still early but I go all day without eating because it is beginning to make me feel somewhat bulimic from the constant running to the restroom after a meal. I know the Soups are not enough but wonder what else can I do to begin getting more than 20 or 30 grams of Protein or 4-5 cups of Water? I saw the Protein Shots at GNC and Wal-Mart but my next appt to my doc isn't til the 16th. So I am asking if you guys could help me. I know it takes time but I am worried and do not want to alarm my fam or friends. They all are finally accepting wls as a benefit and not a problem and if I say something I feel they will once again say it was a bad idea.

Here is a typical daily routine for me:

6am : Wake up. Try to drink a 1/2 cup of Water and take multi-Vitamins

8am: Shower. Another 1/2 cup of water. 1/2 of an egg

10am: Work. Mix of water and juice in in 16 oz cup of ice I sip on for a while

12pm: 1 chicken strip or another form of grilled/baked chicken. (always comes back up)

2pm: few sips of water

4pm: few sips of water and a 8 teaspoons of chicken noodle Soup broth

6pm: 1/2 cup of water and 3 tablespoons of tuna (usually comes back up)

8pm: 1/2 cup of water and up to half a hot dog and 2-3 cubes of cheddar cheese

It really is taking all I have to do that and people think me owning a restaurant will help me eat but it actually does the opposite. I am never hungry and have to force myself to eat but I feel like I am always thirsty and can not get enough down. It still is harder to drink plain water than sugarfree drinks but I stay with water because of the artificial sweetners.

I told my surgeon to make my sleeve small as possible and he said it will hold no more than 3-4 oz when healed but I am wondering if I made a good choice since I never had a major appetite or ate more than twice a day. Should I just add the Protein shots for now and keep working my way up or keep forcing myself to try to eat real meat and chance getting sick? IS it normal not to want to eat at a month out?

Any replies will be greatly appreciated

I think you should look at mushier foods and also at protein shakes to get your required 70g of protein. I ate lots of eggs and soups in the first few months, plus various Protein Shakes. Are you using a PPI to dampen down the acid in your stomach, that might help too.

Hope it gets better for you soon.

Jane x

[Shan 2]

I don't have time to read all of the replies so forgive me if this is repetitive.

I had an epiphany at one point, and discovered that if I even so much as take a sip of liquid while I'm eating...my food comes right back up. I can drink as much as I want before that first bite, but once I take a bite, I can't take another sip until 30 minutes after the last bite. At 6 months out I can eat pretty much whatever I want, but the no sipping while eating rule is still absolutely necessary or up it comes.

There's nothing wrong with eating cheese, whole milk, and Peanut Butter at this point. If you can't tolerate meat, don't eat meat. Your number one goal needs to be getting at least 5 - 600 calories a day. After that you can work on meeting your Protein goal.

If you're not able to keep anything down, I'd definitely check with your doctor to make sure you don't have a stricture.

Good luck, girl! The first couple of months are rough, but once you figure out how your sleeve works...it's so rewarding!

[Beadingnurse 116]

Hi NC Lady, I am 3 weeks out today and can't eat nearly the solid foods that you are attempting. I agree with other posters that you might try backing down to mushies for a week or so and see if that helps. I am still having a lot of pureed or brothy Soups and haven't even tried meat. I had one half of a scrambled egg yesterday and I felt stuffed with that...I am sure it would have come up if I had eaten one more bite. Maybe try decreasing the quantity a bit too?? Good luck!! We will get there!

[Ms Lady in NC 1]

Hi everyone! Sorry about the late nite posts but I honestly can't get here until this time, but when am here I am truly reading and learning from all the great info. This site really helps me out more than anything else and for that I am soooo thankful!

I just wanted to let everyone know how things went today. Here was my day :

11am: unsweetened all natural applesauce 3 tbsp

12pm: Multivitamins and 1/2 cup of Water

1pm: more water to finish the 20 oz. cup

3pm: 3 cheese cubes and 4 tbsp of tuna mixed with egg and slash of mayo

4pm: began another 20 oz of water

6pm: finished water

7pm: cup of chicken and stars Soup

8pm: 1/2 of banana and 4 oz of whole milk

9pm: began 24 oz bottle of water and 2 quarter size pieces of deli meat

Right now: finishing the rest of water

So today I drank about 8 cups of water and was actually able to keep everything I ate down. Yay!!! I think the oatmeal early this morning really didn't count because the little I ate did come back up but I do think it was my fault in not making it thin enough. I tried a llittle skim milk but it too was not well tolerated but the whole milk went down with no problem. I think I will keep trying with the milk. I have also decided to plan my eating because that seems to be the only way I will do it. And after all that, I feel so much better. I agree with most that my doctor's advice on eating regular food is too much for my sleeve right now. So I will try to alternate with Protein Shots and softer foods as suggested. Although I still didn't quite make 800 cals, the water intake was a plus and I feel good. I even feel like I could eat now but am really too tired from this long day to eat another thing.

My doctor also told me to take Prevacid so this is day 2 on that and maybe that helped a bit. I am just happy that I did not tear my sleeve from eating the way I was before. But question for anyone that could answer....

When is a good time to try to eat chicken or beef? I have not tried hamburger or steak at all and was just wondering since my post op diet is not a good one to follow obviously.

Also, how much should I be eating at a time if it is soft foods? I feel full at 2-3 tbsp but know that will not help me reach calorie goals. I know eating more often will help so I hope adding the GNC/Walmart Protein shots could be used to supplement a few cals and add protein.

Thanks for all the great advice. I will try the cottage cheese in other things, greek yogurt, etc tomorrow and see how it goes.

[Viola 15]

Hi Lady, I found Protein H20 by Muscle Milk. It has 10 grams of protein and it taste very very good! I just got sleeved by Dr. Ponce on Friday and am 5 days post op and was having a hard time getting my protein in and liking what I was drinking. GNC carries the Protein H20 and it was a under 2 dollars a bottle. I got the raspberry flavor. I drink of a few of those and Soups and VitaCoco with peach and mango or just peach etc its coconut Water from Brazil. Its all natural and has more electrolytes than most spots drinks and will help in keeping you hydrated than just plain water. AND it tastes good too, just give it a good shake. Don't get the kind that GNC cells to compete with VitaCoco because they add caffeine to theirs and that's not good for sleevers right now. Also poweraid zero has no carbs etc and has electrolytes and will help keep you hydrated better than water. As for the chicken, I'm not to the solid stages yet. I do keep tabs on you to see how you are doing so I know more or less what to expect though. I did get some sweet and sour Soup from the Chinese take out and strained it so that I could have the broth and really enjoy that a lot. I feel like I'm eating normal. Also have you tried baby food? I know not the greatest but it does have everything a baby would need to get the nutrients etc. Something to consider. Hope it helps.

Good luck Lady.