August Surgery buddies

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

1 hour ago, Onemealplan said:

I say go for it! Share with your husband and try a bit. I’m actually at Red Lobster now having crab.🦀 Had a few bites and went down just fine. Just take it one step at a time I will say I’m still in shock about how small my food intake is. Especially now at this stage. Did you feel that way before?

Well this time they didn’t operate on my stomach but with my sleeve I was for sure not able to eat what I could pre surgery. I always felt like I could eat more than others at any given stage but I never tested it too far beyond what I was supposed to have. At like 6 months out I was eating about what everyone else with a sleeve could (maybe a tad bit more) and at 3.5 years out I could eat like 4” or 5”’ of a sub but probably would’ve been full if I had stopped at 3”

Not that I had them often but that was a question they asked me to get a good idea of capacity and it is pretty standard and easy to visualize. Lots of people do feel extremely full on next to nothing very early out, just means more inflammation. Also, they make the stomach a pretty standard size with the surgeries but I don't think they can control how much stretch our stomachs have. That’s not anything I got from a Dr. just my own guess to explain why we are not all the exact same at the same stage.

I really hope you enjoyed your crab. I found a skinny scampi recipe that I’m gonna try making the sauce to dip mine in. I know that I won’t eat much at this point but I want to find the healthy recipes now while I’m not p hungry because last time I didn’t and i think that was part of why I regained. When I could finally eat more and my body was hungry I hadn't changed what i was eating enough to maintain the loss. Then at a certain point I just gave up trying. I am such a picky eater I have been really scouring the web for recipes. A friend of me said that making tacos with ground turkey tastes the same to her so I plan to give that a try when i can have them or taco salad.

[RRenaeL23 22]

4 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Did you see the idea for the ricotta bake? I have posted it a couple of times but it’s really good. I will add though that with the purée stage I was eating a lot of cheese and barely any Fiber and between that and the shakes the Constipation was pretty bad. I ended up adding some purée oats with the NP permission and some purée veggies with GENEPRO unflavored Protein Powder mixed in and I added a teaspoon of soluble Fiber to my daily proffee and all that seems to have helped. The other thing that is pretty good is puree egg salad. I just made it like normal then put it in the food processor. Well I did use less of the yolks and subbed some Greek yogurt for half the low fat mayo to cut some fat. I thought it was gonna be really gross honestly but it pretty much tastes the same. The other thing I did was to purée a whole container of salsa and I add that to my scrambled egg beaters and my purée refried Beans for some flavor.

Thank you @shopgirl this sounds amazing!

[RRenaeL23 22]

2 hours ago, Onemealplan said:

Baby food carrots and squash. purée cottage cheese with soft fruit. I like peaches. Scrambled egg white with milk. Congratulations on your next stage.

Thank you!

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

6 minutes ago, RRenaeL23 said:

Thank you @shopgirl this sounds amazing!

I just came up with something else. Well an update to the egg salad purée. Instead of mayo I used 3 eggs with one big spoon of nonfat yogurt and 2’ big spoons of hummus. I got the dill pickle hummus since it doesn’t have chunks. It has to marinate overnight but I tasted it and it seems like it’s going to be pretty good. Now ti figure out what ti do with the reduced fat cream cheese that was on my list. Thinking maybe mix into some mashed cauliflower.

Edited August 26 by ShoppGirl

[Hiddenroses 85]

Hello! Short update from my phone --

@draikaina8503 - 60g of Protein is what they told me to aim for once I'm active, and yes - the more the better, but they said during this stage it's better to not push my stomach and to still focus #1 on hydration. Since I got the GENEPRO it's been a lot easier to hit between 50-60/day, for sure. Mind that it states on the back that for macros you should treat it as 30 (or 35, not looking ATM - per scoop) even though Nutrition Facts read as 11. Oh, and the 1-2 month timeline - Yeah she said it would lessen between 3 wks and 1 months but the fatigue and occasional tenderness with certain movements does last up to another month for some.

@ShoppGirl - That recipe sounds great, thanks for sharing! I may try that in the morning. I've also had luck with egg drop Soup (added a half scoop of Genepro to bulk the protein), I did add a little bit of crumbled ground beef to my ricotta bake for more protein (made my own marinara out of garden tomatoes from a recipe I found) and today made Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, which was basically shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, diced onion, and ground beef simmered together, seasoned with salt and pepper. Oh, and I had success as well with pureed roast beef lunch meat, cream cheese, and sauteed bell peppers and onions as a sort of pureed Philly cheese steak filling. Wish I'd had mushrooms to add! So sorry about your A/C!! I hope it gets fixed swiftly!

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

2 hours ago, Hiddenroses said:

Hello! Short update from my phone --

@draikaina8503 - 60g of Protein is what they told me to aim for once I'm active, and yes - the more the better, but they said during this stage it's better to not push my stomach and to still focus #1 on hydration. Since I got the GENEPRO it's been a lot easier to hit between 50-60/day, for sure. Mind that it states on the back that for macros you should treat it as 30 (or 35, not looking ATM - per scoop) even though Nutrition Facts read as 11. Oh, and the 1-2 month timeline - Yeah she said it would lessen between 3 wks and 1 months but the fatigue and occasional tenderness with certain movements does last up to another month for some.

@ShoppGirl - That recipe sounds great, thanks for sharing! I may try that in the morning. I've also had luck with egg drop Soup (added a half scoop of GENEPRO to bulk the protein), I did add a little bit of crumbled ground beef to my ricotta bake for more Protein (made my own marinara out of garden tomatoes from a recipe I found) and today made Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, which was basically shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, diced onion, and ground beef simmered together, seasoned with salt and pepper. Oh, and I had success as well with pureed roast beef lunch meat, cream cheese, and sauteed bell peppers and onions as a sort of pureed Philly cheese steak filling. Wish I'd had mushrooms to add! So sorry about your A/C!! I hope it gets fixed swiftly!

The unstuffed cabbage rolls sound good. Believe it or not I’ve never made any type of cabbage roll. I have however been using deli roast beef for my cheese steak for a while. I just get the really rare meat and then heat it for a few Seconds in a skillet. I’ve never tried mixing cream cheese in it though. That sounds interesting. I like to make Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers when I trying to be good. I bet the cream cheese would sorta hold the mixture down into the pepper better. I wish I could try it now. I suppose I could make it for my hubby and puree mine.

My AC miraculously came back on last nigjt after two hours of flashing an error code and not working. It just started back up- so weird. We don’t dare touch it because we don’t believe it’s fixed but it’s cheaper to have someone come check it during the week. My husband is going to tell them the error code it was giving tomorrow and just see if there is anything they need to do. Maybe it is fine. That would be a nice break since it’s just barely out of warranty now plus I won’t habe to deal with the workers being here.

I’m still thinking about them cabbage rolls. After the purée tuna was gross to me I kinda thought purée meat was gonna be a no go. Was it good? I’m sure iit helped that it was in the sauce and all that too. I was looking at another ricotta recipe that had chicken and spinach that was a casserole with cheese as well I was considering for my early soft food stage. I think it had artichoke hearts too. It was on Pinterest. They actually have a-lot of recipes under high protein low fat and high protein bariatric recipes.

One thimg I forgot about is adding to the plain Greek yogurt. The ranch or French onion Soup mix or PB2 to make dips. I added that and some peeled apples and a seedless cucumber to my shopping list for soft foods with the ranch and the PB dip in mind. I think the dry onions should wait for regular foods but it is really good so I mentioned it.

Edited August 26 by ShoppGirl

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

Well I have an eye appt today and they are notorious for making me wait for like an hour or longer just to be seen and then there is the hour or so in between while you dilate. It’s usually a half day experience that I dread on a normal day but one I am really not looking forward to today being worried about not being comfortable and possible bathroom issues. I will deal with it and be fine I’m sure but for those of you who haven’t had your surgery yet it is something to keep in mind. If I had realized it in advance I would’ve pushed it out a bit longer since it is just routine.

[Meme Campbell 5]

My surgery is set for tomorrow morning. I’m nervous and excited all at same time. This 3 day prep all liquids is for the birds. I really didn’t know how food was such a big part of my life.

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

14 minutes ago, Meme Campbell said:

My surgery is set for tomorrow morning. I’m nervous and excited all at same time. This 3 day prep all liquids is for the birds. I really didn’t know how food was such a big part of my life.

3 Days, consider yourself. Lucky. I did two weeks of two shakes and small low carb dinner and then two days of all liquids. It’s perfectly normal or common to be a little nervous but it’s A pretty routine thing nowadays. Good luck tomorrow and come back and let us know how it went.

[Meme Campbell 5]

I Definitely will. So you have already had your surgery?

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

30 minutes ago, Meme Campbell said:

I Definitely will. So you have already had your surgery?

Yes. I am 2.5 weeks post SADI revision surgery. The majority of us on this thread have already had our surgeries since we are getting to the end of August.

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

So as I’m looking at these healthy recipes I am thinking that my food choices will be more quality over quantity In the future. I know that some generic products are exactly the same but for those that aren’t I am splurging on the better brands and thinking of using fresh products more often. Instead of grated Parmesan cheese in a shaker I plan to get the chunk of Parmesan and grate it fresh for instance. I know that for my broccoli cheese Soup I use fresh grated cheddar and it makes a huge difference so im hoping that’s the same with Parmesan.

I’m going to try the cheese grater I already have to see if that works but if not the rotary ones are pretty inexpensive. I’m also going to do fresh vegetables and herbs. I may even experiment with making my own sauces and dressings eventually. Hopefully that will infuse better flavor to the healthy stuff. I also have a store near me that has a lot more healthy options and really good produce but I never go because it hasn’t been important enough to me in the past. I am like 10 minutes away once a week for my crochet group though so I figured I can at least go that often to start and more often if necessary. It’s ironic because I don’t want to go because it’s “too far” yet I wouldn’t think twice about driving that far for an unhealthy restaurant or just about anything else to be honest.

My plan is to prioritize my health and that begins with the food I am putting into my body. Now I just have to figure out a plan for the exercise and actually follow through on all of it. . Anyone else have any ideas to get us on the right track?

Edited August 26 by ShoppGirl

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

If anyone on early purée stage is having a hard time with scrambled eggs try “egg beaters” mixed with small curd cottage cheese. It makes them cremier than normal eggs. Also mix in puréed salsa when it’s almost done to heat and it makes them even wetter. Almost tell wet for me but it’s better than going back to liquids if your struggling.

[ShoppGirl 4,347]

There is this heat/ ice pack thing for lower back pain that is pretty cool I bought on Amazon that works great for the intended purpose called Magic Gel But I just asked my husband for an ice pack and when he grabbed this one instead of my usual I thought hey, worn backwards that may actually work for the belly too and it does.

It comes with a warm pack and an ice pack and the band that Velcros around your waist has a mesh pocket for an ice or heat pack. Most of my incisions that are painful are lower and this doesn’t cover the entire belly all the way up for the incisions under the breast but it can be used without the belt for that if need be. It does cover the lower incisions quite well

For size reference I am currently at 229 pounds and have it loose and have about 4 extra inches. It fit with room still when I was 258 too. I just didn’t measure how much extra at that time. It’s neoprene Tao it does have some stretch as well. Just FYI if you do get it, I was warned by my NP no heat on the incisions themselves and ice for only 20 minutes at a time. Like set an alarm it’s that important. But it feels really good while it’s on there and this one can be worn while walking around even. Just passing along anything I find that works ❤️‍🩹

Edited August 27 by ShoppGirl

[Hiddenroses 85]

I don't know where my other post went - I swore I typed one up earlier. Oh well - Here we go again!

So, I'm at 3 weeks out exactly today from my SADI (Sleeve + Intestinal shortening) surgery and I'm definitely starting to feel less pulling and pinching with movements. I'm beginning week two of my puree diet, and I feel like it's going pretty well. During the Protein Shake / liquid post diet for two weeks I did deal with Constipation. It's still leveling out, but as I eat more 'regular' food (Even as a puree) that seems to be lifting a bit. I did still take some milk of magnesia yesterday out of caution because I hadn't 'gone' in two days, and didn't want to worry about it worsening.

I'd say the hardest part for me continues to be the 'No drinking 30 mins before/after meals' but I use the Baritastic app to set a timer. I also use the timer to make sure my 'meals' take at least 30 minutes. Want to make sure I don't rush and end up feeling poorly afterward.

Things that have worked well for me during my puree stage include egg drop Soup, chicken/tuna salad made with puree chicken or tuna, light mayo, and sometimes a bit of relish, and for added Protein a boiled egg or two, with or without the yolks per preference. (Dill relish is healthier than sweet relish). I did allow myself 2-3 saltines with those, usually about 3.5 oz of the tuna or chicken salad makes me feel sated. Other recipes that have worked include the ricotta bake and unstuffed cabbage rolls, pureed low fat/0 sugar yogurt or cottage cheese with GENEPRO powder and cooked, strained strawberries or blueberries (I added a bit of 0% Milk to make it more of a smoothie), Riccotta pureed with either a bit of fruit or avocado, small serving of oatmeal pureed with fruit (test yourself with an ounce or two less than you normally eat for oatmeal because it sits heavy and often swells - add some zero or skim milk to make it thinner if needed.

Other recipes include homemade no-noodle chicken soup of sorts with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and pureed carrots w/a little bit of onion powder or diced onion. I also made a homemade 'philly cheese steak' filling of sorts with some sautéed bell peppers and a bit of diced onion, some roast beef lunch meat, and cream cheese. Others speak highly of pureed refried Beans with a bit of seasoning to taste more like taco meat, adding either a bit of mild salsa or a combination of onion powder and perhaps a bit of cumin. That's a personal choice, and definitely suggest going slow with your seasoning due to possible heartburn. You could add a bit of shredded low-fat/skim mozzarella or even low fat sour cream to round it out. Today I made 'chicken pot pie w/no crust' which was basically just cooked carrots and finely diced celery and onions with finely diced rotisserie chicken with a can each of 98% fat free cream of celery and 98% fat free cream of chicken. I haven't had any yet because I'm a little unsure about the celery, even cooked, but pureed and in a small serving I'm sure it would treat me fine.

The Ricotta Bake I made was super simple and I know there are a lot of variations to the recipe online. I made my own marinara sauce by peeling about 5 smallish tomatoes, dicing them, and simmering them with a little less than equal parts Water, Italian seasoning, and a bit of diced onion. The ricotta mixture was easy; just used 8oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used the shaker but fresh is better) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. I put a layer of half the mix on the bottom of a buttered baking dish, topped it with 1/2 lb cooked and seasoned ground beef, then put the rest of the mixture on top. Poured about 3/4 of the homemade marinara over it then covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It's basically a no-noodle lasagna.

The Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls I made were equally easy - I used a rotary grinder (Works SO well, bought on Amazon for around twenty bucks) to grate half a head of lettuce. Instead of canned diced tomatoes I once I again peeled about 5 small/medium tomatoes and diced them, adding to the skillet along with maybe 1/8 cup diced onion and another 1/2 lb of the ground beef. For seasoning the recipe I used just had me add a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning mix. The family enjoyed it and after pureeing the ground beef a bit I found it fine to eat, although slowly and very well chewed (same with the ground beef in my ricotta bake). Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each.

I want to respond more to folks - @Pepper_No_Salt I hate that you're dealing with so much nausea! I absolutely second talking to your care team about that. There are some nausea pills that dissolve under the tongue and work more quickly for me than the Zofran, they'd probably be willing to call you in some. Things that made me feel queasy were taking meds or Vitamins before my meal had hit bottom, drinking too quickly, not walking around after I ate, and taking Calcium and my Multivitamin with Iron too close to my Calcium. Not sure if any of that helps - I am also taking Prilosec for heartburn in the mornings and they had me add Magnesium Citrate at bedtime to help with constipation. Sometimes when I'm due to pass gas or have a bowel movement working its way through my system I'd start to feel a little icky and not really nauseous but more anxiety / feelings of fullness. I found that for whatever reason putting an ice pack on my chest or low back helped. I hope you find some relief! Oh, I also found that as soon as my thirty minutes post-meal is up it helps me to sip on REALLY cold water or Gatorade zero, especially if I do it while standing and moving around a little bit. I equate it to the need to get the burps out after eating, just like I had to do post-surgery.

@ShoppGirl - Thanks for all of your support and input. I continue to read your posts and while I'm low energy on responding right now I hope the details of my recipe for the unstuffed cabbage bake is helpful!

@draikaina8503 - Congratulations on your walk! I still wear out quickly even at three weeks out, but I knew the first month or two would be a slog and do feel my energy is rebounding.

@Onemealplan - Sounds like you're doing great and I hope you enjoy the heck out of your vacation! I second what you said to @ShoppGirl about trying the crab, and hope the meals you do get to taste on vacation treat you well. I think her advice to just explain you're recovery from stomach surgery should more than reassure any staff concerned about your small portions.

@AndreaJD I'm so glad your sister has been supportive! My 'chosen' brother and best friend has likewise done the same. He's been on a Keto journey for about two years with great results and I worried at first that he would think I was taking the 'easy way out' and now that he's heard more he's been great in reassuring me that he does NOT think that is the case at all, and in fact believes I chose a great option for myself that moves things along quicker but certainly with a lot of sacrifice and hard work. I also completely agree with you on the 'mind hunger' vs 'body hunger'.

I'm lucky that I do feel a bit of pressure in my chest that I now identify as a feeling of 'fullness' as opposed to anxiety and I'm less worried about my protein goals now that I have the Genepro Protein Powder. I love that it isn't gritty when I mix it in with things as long as I mix it with something room temperature FIRST. That's on the instructions, actually, as is the fact that for your macros to count it as like 30-ish grams of protein per scoop rather than the 'weight' listed in Nutrition facts of 11g/scoop. Just wanted to make sur eI mentioned that!

Oh - in regards to weighing - I get on the scale every day or so to kind of 'reinforce' what I'm doing, but remember that sometimes you see more from your measuring tape at the waist, hips, etc than the scale will show. Also head's up, a lot of folks plateau for a handful of days around week three and it will happen on and off moving forward, so don't be discouraged by that!

@RRenaeL23 - I hope these recipes and suggestions for your puree diet work well! I'm still finding myself comfortable eating no more than about 3-4 oz at a meal, and certainly am following the no drinking 30 mins before/after meals. It's absolutely easier for me to do if I make sure my meal is on the moist side, even if it means adding a little extra water. It's better to add protein powder (Can't speak highly enough of the unflavored Genepro) to hit your protein goal than to overeat to make it, that's for sure! I'm always eager for my 30 minutes to be up so I can sip on icy cold water or Gatorade Zero.

@Meme Campbell - Best of luck to you on your surgery tomorrow! Don't hesitate to ask for ice packs and pain relief and take advantage of the pain relief to get some walking in, especially the first couple of days. The pain lessons as you walk because it works the gas out. I also strongly suggest sipping your shakes / water / propel sitting as upright as is possible and not laying back until about ten minutes has passed or you've burped a few times! Keep us updated! Most of us in this thread have already had our surgeries but if you read through the first 3-7 pages you'll get a pretty good idea of what to expect if you don't already feel prepared. It's a bit of a process but the pain WILL start to lessen in the coming weeks! Don't be surprised when you get tired super quickly and be gentle on your body. Across the board surgeons seem to agree that your #1 priority fresh out of surgery will be walking as tolerated, focusing on your hydration, and getting as much protein as you comfortably can. Don't let yourself go more than three days without a bowel movement - Milk of Magnesia works wonders for that. I let myself go 5 days post surgery and that was a somewhat painful and unpleasant process to reverse. Colace makes your bowel movements 'smoother' but is NOT a laxative. If you deal with heartburn talk to your team - they put me on Prilosec for now. We're rooting for you!

Sorry for anyone I missed; not sure what happened to my other post. Wishing you all the best in surgeries and recoveries!

Edited August 27 by Hiddenroses