troubel getting protein and food in.

[fharris 3]

I am two weeks out of surgery and i have started on pureed food but I am having a difficult time eating i'm just not hungry or thirsty. Any suggestions on how to make mush taste better.

[LessOfMe0503 157]

Nope... I thought mush was just a crappy stage I suffered through. Are you drinking Protein Shakes? Those were the main source of Protein for me for awhile.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I guess it depends on what you are eating. You could use herbs and/or spices, sauces, etc. I didn't have a purée stage, but my NUT recommended using some low-fat gravy to make meats moist.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I skipped purees. I would rather starve than eat pureed food. I have always been a picky eater and food texture will make me vomit. I did not want to vomit that close to surgery so I just did another week of full liquids instead of purees. I tried really soft scrambled eggs and I made very thin cream of wheat with unflavored Protein powder in it. just to have a little something that was more than liquids, then I went to very soft foods.

Ask your doctor what else you can do

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Seasonings helped me Garlic powder, ground rosemary, tumeric, lemon juice, lime juice etc... it made a difference. I also started adding back spices like cayenne and Sriracha. I was a spicey food eater pre-op and I found a little bit post op helped without triggering acid.

Other than making my Soups thicker I did things like oatmeal, refried Beans and soft scrambled eggs. I never ate baby food, the thought grossed me out.

[fharris 3]

Thank you for your input, but no i have not been getting my shakes in. I just mixed up some Protein with sugar free pudding.I also wonder how you get all your liquids in if you need to eat every 3 to 4 hrs. i find myself going for a drink and trying to think if i'm going to eat soon or did i just eat . It get's very confusing and then i don't get my fluids in. what am i doing wrong.

[LessOfMe0503 157]

It's certainly a balancing act!

When I first had surgery, I set a timer in my phone for 1 minute. Everytime it went off, I would take a sip of Water. I would do that for about 20 minutes several times a day. I also did it with Protein shakes. Staying hydrated is important so keep working on it!

Refried Beans, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese and yogurt are really what I ate during the mushy stage.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Thank you for your input, but no i have not been getting my shakes in. I just mixed up some Protein with sugar free pudding.I also wonder how you get all your liquids in if you need to eat every 3 to 4 hrs. i find myself going for a drink and trying to think if i'm going to eat soon or did i just eat . It get's very confusing and then i don't get my fluids in. what am i doing wrong.

You could make a schedule either on paper or on your phone. I use MyFitnessPal to track my protein because I can't remember what I did 10 minutes ago but it doesn't have a scheduling function. You may just have to write everything down for now if you have to eat on a schedule.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Remember unless your doctor says differently it's fluids, not Water. A Protein shake is a Fluid. However Protein Powder mixed in pudding is not.

As mentioned you make up a schedule. I started between:

8 and 9am - Sip a Protein Shake for an hour

9/10 am - wait 30 minutes.

10:30/11 Sip 2nd Protein shakes.

My shakes were ~ 30 - 38 grams of Protein. So by 1 pm I had hit over 60 gms protein.

First few weeks this is the time I would go for a walk. Other wise I just started sipping on Water.< /p>

The first 2 weeks if I got through the entire 24 ounces of my water bottle I was happy. Combined with the fluids from my Protein Shakes I was hitting 64 ounces of fluids.

dinner was typically Soup during all liquids phase. Any of the foods I mentioned above after that. Around 8 pm, I would sip a little more water, but that was pretty much it. My goal was to get that protein in early so I could focus on drinking water.

[fharris 3]

thank you all so much for your help, I will try to fallow your input.