What do I eat the 1st & 2nd Months after WLS

[Suzannesh 376]

What are you able to eat the 1^st month?

I have said over and over that the 1^st 30 days after having weight loss surgery are the very hardest to do. I think there are several things that make it so hard. The first is we were used to chewing a lot of food at one time and then swallowing it. Now you are on Clear liquids. I got bored with

them. The 1^st 10 days was the worst. Then the creamy stage came along and I loved being able to have creamy Soups. Remember now you can add your Protein Drinks that are creamy to this stage—you will be able to get some good quality Protein. When I got to the mushy stage this was a bit of a challenge for me. (My husband and his great sense of humor suggested Gerber baby food.) Believe me I considered it. I made some chicken Soup and put it in the blender and it was chunky—it was good and I was getting some protein too from it. I also made a big pot of veggie soup and mashed it up in the bowel when I ate it. If you make a big pot of Veggie soup everyone in the family can eat it. The last 10 days are when you are learning to take that tiny baby bites and then swallow. :P

I suggest that when you get to the mushy stage that you start to practice taking tiny, small baby bites of food. For most of your life you have been inhaling your food, barely chewing it and almost swallowing it whole with 2 or 3 bites. That will NO longer work for you once you finish the 1^st 30 days. That was my biggest problem when I started to eat regular food again. I still sometimes have to set my fork down and chew and chew and chew. It is a learning lesson.

During the 1^st month after WLS, your brain is still thinking in the mode of where you used to be before WLS. PLEASE remember that our brain really could convince us before to eat and eat and eat. We ate for all the wrong reasons. We ate when we were bored, upset, hurt, scared, or anxious. I am sure there was many more reason why we ate.

NOW you are going to have to learn to listen to your stomach and know that you are full. Some signs are hiccups or runny nose—pay attention to those signs. The brain plays tricks on us—many of us call this “head hunger.” The brain really will try to tell you that you are starving and you should eat more. Those are “head hunger games” and you need to learn the difference between do I NEED to eat or do I just WANT to eat.

SO WHAT DO I EAT STARTING THE 2^ND MONTH

I started with what I will call soft or easy to chew Proteins.

1. Soft Boiled eggs or scrambled eggs cooked in a pan with PAM spray.

2. Chicken breast with NO skin—baked, grilled, broiled, steamed, boiled, or roasted. Look for a cookbook that shows you 100 different ways to fix chicken.

3. Fish no skin no bones it is worth getting it this way—Grilled, roasted, steamed, broiled, or in a pan cooked with PAM spray—dip it in a little egg for more protein.

4. Turkey breast with NO skin—baked, grilled, broiled, steamed, boiled, or roasted. You can also cook it in a pan with PAM spray.

These proteins can be cooked so many different ways.

At first I would cook them pretty simple and use different “rubs” on them for flavor. Fresh squeezed Lemon or Lime really added a lot of flavor to them. I eat very little RED meat. I was a lover of red meat in the past, but I no longer eat much of it. I try to keep my carbs down to about 25 or 30 carbs per day. I use WHOLE GRAIN carbs and not whole wheat. It takes time and effort to plan what you are going to eat. It takes a while to adjust your lifestyle to eating like this. This is NOT A DIET, but a lifestyle change that will last a life time. I also exercise at least 5 days a week.

I ate fresh veggies and usually steamed them or had them raw and a small amount of fresh fruit helped too.

You are only going to be able to eat small amounts of protein—maybe 1 oz. per meal and ¼ of a cup of veggies this second month. You will look at your plate and think is this all I am going to get—then you eat and figure out pretty quickly that you are full.

I still eat these same foods 2 years and 8 months later, only I now eat a little more of each of them. I also STILL drink my Premier Protein Drink for Breakfast every day. It has 30 grams of protein and it just works for me to drink it—that is all I have for breakfast. I have some small Snacks during the day too, and they consist of nuts or veggies.

Yes, I have a something sweet now and then, but in small amounts and NOT every day. A sliver of cake—not a big piece, or 1 cookie, not 5 or 6. It is more about the taste, and once I have satisfied the taste, I am ok and I don’t feel deprived at ALL. As time goes on you will become more creative with what you are cooking and will find what tastes good to you.

Take some of your old recipes and reinvent them to something that you can eat now with you new and improved stomach. :D

If you have any questions just E-mail me.:smilewinkgrin:

[To Be Thin 2011 80]

Great advise!!!! Thank you and Congrats on your 100+ weight loss - wow! Under your target weight!!! Awesome!

[Suzannesh 376]

Great advise!!!! Thank you and Congrats on your 100+ weight loss - wow! Under your target weight!!! Awesome!

Hi,

I loved your "To Be Thin 2011" Great name to go by. I just want people to have some idea what they are in for. It is all good, and I wouldn't trade any of the days it took for me to be where I am now. My only regret was that I didn't do it 10 years ago. But 10 years ago I don't think I would have known much about the sleeve, and honestly this is the way to go. It just fits my lifestyle so much better. And I never feel deprived.

I wish you nothing but success.

Hugs,

Suzanne