eight weeks and not progressing with food phases.

[Iambeautiful 100]

I wondered if anyone else was having problems with food still. I am eight weeks post op and I am having trouble progressing to the next stages of the diet. I tried chicken and lettuce and veggies. The only thing that still goes down easy is cottage cheese, chili, yoghurt, Beans and finely chopped chicken salad. I wonder if I'll ever be able to have progress here to eat things that others do without discomfort. I had baked chicken yesterday with a side of thin sliced cucumber salad and broccoli tops..... Oh i had so much discomfort getting that down and so I only took a few bites and stopped eating. I have to still basically live on soft foods. some days i can eat finely chopped lettuce and just a small amount of finely chopped baked chicken...... I tried the ground turkey and even that is hard to eat. I think I'm going to get a food processor so I can chop everything I eat into very tiny pieces..... like baby food. Otherwise it is so uncomfortable to eat anything solid.... They say it takes time. I'm beginning to wonder.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I think it is absolutely fine not to push yourself if you are not ready. My plan called for four weeks of full liquids, followed by four weeks of purees, followed by four MONTHS of soft foods - no raw veggies, nothing you couldn't cut easily with a fork. A lot of people would find this kind of plan constricting, but I have to say I never encountered a food type or texture that made me uncomfortable in any way, I think because my plan was structured so that I couldn't. I guess my general advice is to make sure that meat is very tender -- so that you could cut it with a fork -- and stay away from raw or tough veggies. If you want to puree things, go for it, but every 3-4 days give yourself a little test with just a few bites of food that is very tender but not pureed. I'll bet you'll find yourself with an increasing tolerance for it. Good luck!

[NMJG 1,266]

8 weeks and you are trying raw veggies and lettuce? No wonder you are having trouble. I think that is a very aggressive progression. I couldn't eat lettuce and raw vegs until 4 months out, and didn't really enjoy them until 5+ months. I had well-cooked vegs (very soft) up to that point, and only a bite or two at that.

Try dark meat chicken, much easier on the sleeve than white meat.

You are still healing, so take all the time you need. This isn't a race. Baby your new sleeve. You won't regret it.

[ChavaBling 145]

@@Iambeautiful, great name, btw. I'm sorry you're still not progessing but remember how you just had 80% of your stomach removed? My surgeon told me it can take up to a year for the swelling & inflammation to be 100% gone. Your poor little pouch has had a lot to deal with and hopefully over time, you'll get some new foods you can enjoy. Although, I'm sure it is supremely frustrating right now.

Try dark meat chicken, much easier on the sleeve than white meat.

That is very interesting, have others found this to be true as well? How did you discover this for yourself? I am an all-white-meat kind of gal, but of course it would be better to have less pain!!

[gomekast 559]

I totally did when I was at that point. I had a partial stricture for the first 3-4 months..so I wasnt crazy about going further threw the stages either.

I just kept eating the stuff I did like and that would agree with me sleeve. My program didnt mind it because I wasn't hitting my fluid goals either and they wanted me to go slower.

Good luck in your journey.

[gomekast 559]

That is very interesting, have others found this to be true as well? How did you discover this for yourself? I am an all-white-meat kind of gal, but of course it would be better to have less pain!!

I barfed up white chicken each time I tried until just a few weeks ago. Im 6 months post op now. The dark meat is moister naturally. Its very common for a lot of people post op.

I saw lettuce mentioned above..I was eating small salads each night at 3 months out, but you do need to focus on chewing really well for the first 6 months. Just about anything can be eaten, as long as you chew it really really well. I'm talking like baby food consistency well.

Edited April 17, 2014 by gomekast

[Iambeautiful 100]

@SarahChavaBlingstein thanks Sarah.... I have to keep telling myself iambeautiful even though i haven't felt that way in years... I think the progression diet that the weight loss institute set up for us is an 'ideal' diet plan in it's phases but for people like me it's just not working. I had a major setback trying to eat any raw foods whatsoever. I actually got so nauseated today and I haven't felt this sick since right after surgery. I just cannot do raw food of any kind yet..... even fruit. Fruit is the worse. I guess because of the natural sugars in it. I'm going to stick with the soft food as much as possible still...

[Iambeautiful 100]

@NMJG I know.... by next week they say I'm supposed to be eating almost anything.... What? Not me.... I know I can't. I am eight weeks post op and can eat a lot of things now so they say..... but i cannot tolerate raw foods.... that's for certain. Back to chicken salad, yoghurt, cottage cheese, Beans maybe. funny i can tolerate chili very well.... the beans are very soft. Yes white meat chicken is very hard to eat but the minced up chicken in chicken salad goes down easier. My staple is sugar free bomb pops...... they get me through the day..... I don't eat more than 2. The coldness and sweetness is a treat.

[NMJG 1,266]

I still like softer foods, even 8 months out. I eat Beans frequently.

I learned about dark meat chicken on this forum. Was a white meat eater before. Although I can eat white meat now, I have learned to prefer dark, like boneless thighs.

You gotta listen to your tummy and go at the speed it wants. I guess I am still ruled by my stomach lol.

[Kindle 8,667]

Have you tried scrambled eggs? I added Water to mine so they were super moist and soft. How about Soups? I ate a lot of diluted cream soups with added Unjury Protein Powder during puréed stage. Heck, I still do....I had split pea with ham Soup for dinner tonight. The veggies in canned soups are also super mushy.

As long as you are kind "stuck" with soft stuff for now, hopefully you can mix it up with some variety. Fortunately I can now eat pretty much anything, but because I can only eat such a small amount, I still have 1-2 Protein Drinks everyday to meet Protein goals. As for veggies, I rarely eat any (and haven't even tried salad or raw veggies yet). because I always do protein first then I'm stuffed. I try to drink V8 every day.