Recently Post-OP learning how to eat again

[Ricardo Judice 2]

Hello All!

So, As of this post, i'm 2 weeks after My Sleeve surgery. i'm 30 yr old and when i did the Surgery my weight was 273lbs . Now as i enter my second week, im 255.

So, those of you who have been through this kinda already know that this early part just.... well.... sucks... right?

I for one have to say that i feel a bit blessed with all of it. I heard all the stories, heard about all the hardships... and well, 2 weeks in, i had no Reflux, no nausea, no headaches (worst was getting a bit lightheaded. Solved by a nice cup of orange juice), no rejection on anything.

i've been quite worried about keeping properly hydrated and keeping a good pace of Vitamin ingestion... which kinda leads to my actual roadblock here.

So, i live with my family, and to me it was very important that there wasn't a ''my food'' selection in the things at home. I've done my homework and searched around to find as many common ingredients as i possibly can that my family can have alongside myself. ( for instance, finding the best brand o Diet Jello that everyone enjoyed , stuff like that )

But of course... there is the Soup. And i'm having a bit of a problem here... my body is not rejecting it, i don't feel ill taking it... but i understand now that i hit the ''I can't stand the smell of soup'' phase......

I'm Week 2, so things are still a thin blended soup. And that's all i have aside from some jello, Water and natural fruit juice. That's pretty much it.

My mother does most of the cooking and she wanted to take care of this for me, so she is working on doing a ''different blend'' of soup everyday.

It kinda worked at first... that is, most of her blends have as a base 1 or more of of these : Potato, pumpkin and Carrots. she usually adds a meat or chicken broth and a couple of vegetables for flavoring and nutrition to the mix.

She is still a bit afraid of me having some sort of ''reaction'' (even though the Doctor said it was fine) to seasoning, so for the past 2 weeks i've pretty much been taking the same mushy soup with a slightly varied taste.

Since this is all new to me, and i want to help her adapt to this well (since my family also has to live with my new way of feeding myself anyway...) i've been learning new Soups that are not overly complex to make, but have a better variety of flavors.

So, aside of just asking for recipes, i wanted to ask you guys about certain ingredients we usually have here at home and if i can apply them to my diet to change up things.

First, about Sausages. I mean like Turkey and Chicken sausage. Properly cooked and inserted into the soup (and then blended) would that work as a source of Protein and flavoring?

My father suggested using a piece of Pot Roast in the water we cook the vegetables for the soup, then removing the meat before blending it, essentially making a broth as we cook the vegetables, have any of you tried that? Does it work?

How about things like Bacon, i know it can add flavor to many types of soups even if blended, but would the high fat just negate the benefits of the soup at this early stage?

A friend told me he had extremely high acceptability when used Minced meats and soft meats like fish, and even processed meats like Sausage eventually, cause they were easy to break down in his stomach and didn't bloat him up. is this your experience as well?

Another thing, this one thinking a bit more ahead... things like creams ( Like Cream cheese ) and Pâté ( y'know, like a Salmon spread, or Ham spread, just that minced paste that usually goes with salty pastries) . Are these easier for digestion? Y know they are sold in ''low fat, low sodium'' offerings, so i was wondering if eventually this would be a good alternative or complement for a light meal or Breakfast.< /p>

Thank you for your time and attention!

Edited November 8, 2015 by Ricardo Judice

[_Kate_ 2,224]

You will get a huge amount of variety of answers on this topic Ricardo. Personally, I stayed with basic Soups in the liquid stage after surgery, without potatoes. It’s not too long until you get into the pureed stage and then you can slowly start introducing other foods and monitor how your new tummy is coping with it. As long as you are taking all your Vitamins don't worry too much about a nutritionally balanced diet right now. Concentrate on Water, Vitamins and liquid food but don't over complicate things.

I am 3 1/2 months out now and wouldn't eat bacon or sausage right now and probably won't for a long time. As I said everyone is different and you need to find out what works for you. Congrats on the surgery!!

[2goldengirl 2,076]

The smoky flavor from bacon or other smoked meats can be a problem for some people. You can cook a ham hock or smoked turkey wing in with the Soup and remove it whole, and still get that smoky flavor. You can also get hunks of beef marrow bones and roast them in the oven before adding to broth while it cooks, which lends body to the broth and a nice deep flavor.

I wouldn't be afraid of using herbs for flavor - Thyme, bay leaf, flat leaf parsley, these go in all of my Soups and broths.

[Sharon1964 2,530]

Are you allowed mashed potatoes at this point? I'm pretty sure I was. Yes, they're all carb, but you're only eating 1/3 cup for a meal, so it's okay. You can make them with garlic, or with cheese if you like.