confused about meals/free foods

[Tamz 8]

I am to eat 3 full liquid meals a day at 1/4 cup each. -- so I have been doing 1/4 cup cream of wheat for Breakfast, 1/4 cup yogurt/soup for lunch and 1/4 cup Soup for dinner. I do Water, crystal light and popsicles in between. My question is...... what about things like sugar free ice cream, and Jello? are these considered "meals" .. because if it means i have to substitute the cream of wheat or soup for ice cream then I dont want to. Im not quite sure how this works.

I am 9 days out today and things seem to be going down fine with the exception of milk. I tried it again today with my Protein mix and my stomach has been hurting since. Although other dairy like yogurt/pudding etc is fine. Its the actually milk that makes me blah i guess. Anyways..... my Soups i put in the blender and sometimes miss a few chunks of peas, or potato or carrot.. and i just chew it really really good and its fine. Is this ok, and does this mean that I can maybe try cottage cheese or refried Beans or something??

Still learning :/

[sarsar 824]

Didn't you meet with a nutritionist or at least get paperwork from your doctor explaining these things to you? If I remember correctly you said in an earlier post that you are on full liquids for 5 weeks, is that correct? If so I would stick to the full liquids. Refried Beans and cottage cheese are on my soft foods list. You should have a detailed list stating what you can eat and when and what kind of diet you should be on. I still have my list from the surgeon/nutritionist that I met with in the US and I was also given paperwork and met with a nutritionist in Mexico that explained all of this to me before the surgery.

I had to be on Clear Liquids for 10 days, full liquids for 10 days and soft foods for 10 days and then could resume regular foods. (I am currently on soft foods).

All doctors have different requirements which is why it's best to check with your doctor and see what they require for you specifically and then stick to it.

[meggiep 57]

Tamz you are not really asking us to give you permission to do something your doctor is not allowing ? nice try girly! ;-P Your doctor gave you instructions for a reason- and you should follow them, you know that!

That said- things like Jello, pudding, etc. are Snacks and don't need to be meals. I am surprised you are limited to 1/4 cup three times a day though- I could easily have a cup of thinned cream soup- to limit you to full liquids for five weeks AND only 1/4 cup at a time, 3 times seems way too restrictive. I really suggest that you talk to your nutritionist about exactly what to do.

Also- make sure you are looking at labels- sugar free ice cream is not the best choice...

[GreginMI 76]

At the full liquid stage all liquids have to be thin enough to pass through a strainer. So maybe if you stuck some cottage cheese in the blender it would work, but not sure how good it would taste.

[Tamz 8]

Didn't you meet with a nutritionist or at least get paperwork from your doctor explaining these things to you? If I remember correctly you said in an earlier post that you are on full liquids for 5 weeks, is that correct? If so I would stick to the full liquids. Refried Beans and cottage cheese are on my soft foods list. You should have a detailed list stating what you can eat and when and what kind of diet you should be on. I still have my list from the surgeon/nutritionist that I met with in the US and I was also given paperwork and met with a nutritionist in Mexico that explained all of this to me before the surgery.

I had to be on Clear Liquids for 10 days, full liquids for 10 days and soft foods for 10 days and then could resume regular foods. (I am currently on soft foods).

All doctors have different requirements which is why it's best to check with your doctor and see what they require for you specifically and then stick to it.

obviously i met with a nutritionist and yes i have paperwork. I am not completely stupid.. maybe at time yes. all im saying is that i frequently see ppl who are on full liquid but eating thicker things. so i wasnt sure, if im finding that chunks that i accidentally leave Soup is going down fine.. if that meant maybe i need to ask my dr about progressing. 5 wks seems long to be on full liquids.

[Tamz 8]

Tamz you are not really asking us to give you permission to do something your doctor is not allowing ? nice try girly! ;-P Your doctor gave you instructions for a reason- and you should follow them, you know that!

That said- things like Jello, pudding, etc. are Snacks and don't need to be meals. I am surprised you are limited to 1/4 cup three times a day though- I could easily have a cup of thinned cream soup- to limit you to full liquids for five weeks AND only 1/4 cup at a time, 3 times seems way too restrictive. I really suggest that you talk to your nutritionist about exactly what to do.

Also- make sure you are looking at labels- sugar free ice cream is not the best choice...

nooo lol i wasnt asking permission just thinking that maybe i should consider asking if i can progress a bit since it seems all the full liquids go down fine (even chunks that i miss in my Soup :/ ) yeah only 2 oz 3 times a day are my "meals" honestly though, after the 2 oz of soup i am satisfied and start burping hiccuping etc for a few min then im good. they all go down well. 5 wks just seems so long on full liquids.. i know i shouldnt compare myself but it seems most others were not on full liquids for 5 wks! Also, i couldnt even find sugar free ice cream today at the grocery store.. lol i guess i should shut up and stop thinking about it.

Just seems to me at least.... that 5 wks is not necessary. i guess i will talk to my dr on wednesday. Maybe its because i need to lose more! who the hell knows. lol

[Raine 170]

Follow your doctors orders. Part of this stage is also clensing your body and mind of what you were used to doing. Your doctor didnt require a liquid diet pre op if I'm not mistaken where as some require it for a week to 4 weeks to longer. Each doc is different. I was on a full liquid diet for 4 weeks before I went to mushies, 2 weeks pre op and 2 weeks post op. It helped me in that time to get rid of some very bad habits that I was doing.

[Foxbins 625]

I am glad to hear that you are not having problems eating or drinking but you are only nine days post-op. Your stomach is still inflamed from surgery and I would be straining those chunks out of my Soup if I were you. You do not want to cause a complication by not following your surgeon's orders. Doctors are different and will advise their patients differently but I'm figuring if you let them cut out most of your stomach you must believe at some level that they know what they are doing. If you get the go-ahead on Wednesday to progress to another food level, great! But until then, please try to stick with your doctor's orders.

[sarsar 824]

It's hard to stick to a plan, and, I agree 5 weeks seems like a long time. The doctor must have a reason for what he is saying and has his way of doing things. I agree with the others about sticking to the plan he gave you. Your sleeve is tender and healing and you need to give it time to do so. The hardest part for me is the mind. My mind was always thinking about food. It's much better now that I am on soft foods. My suggestion would be to try to keep yourself busy with something and that will help you get through the next month! Soon 30 days will be gone and you will be thinking about how fast it went by, I promise!

[Kim G 1]

Tamz,

I agree that 5 weeks on full liquids is a long time. I absolutely sympathize with you! I was sleeved by the partner of the doctor who sleeved you. It is their policy to put you on full liquids for five weeks to help guard against leaks and other complications. Just be patient....it gets better! :-)

[meggiep 57]

I just realized that with my two weeks of Protein shakes pre-op and my three weeks of thin liquids post-op I actually did do five weeks! Wow!

Hon it is a short time in a long life. It is for your better outcome, for your healing sleeve, and you need to trust your doctor. I think the concept of it training you to not give food the same emphasis you did pre-surgery is a sound one- and I am hoping you are one of us who don't ever get hungry.

I wasn't really realizing you are only nine days out- girl you do NOT want to cause yourself a leak and end up back in the hospital - give your new thumby a break and just go with the thin liquid flow!

[ldydrgnkpr 49]

Five weeks is what I did on full liquids. Yes it seems like a long time. There is a reason behind the madness. NO CHUNKS is what I was told. As the chunks of food can get lodged/stuck in between the staple line. You don't want that to happen. Please strain your Soups and other foods that you puree. The five weeks will go by quickly. Take it easy. Relax.

Deb

[Stacy160 201]

Don't confuse "sugar-free" with No Sugar Added ice cream.... they may not put any extra in, but there's plenty of sugar. Read labels, look at the carbs (a.k.a. sugars) and calories on that stuff... it might be better than eating regular ice cream, but it's sure not gonna help you lose any weight.