JamieLogical

Sounds pretty normal to me. Just keep getting your protein in. You will begin to feel less restriction over time and be able to eat more. If you start getting bored of the protein options you listed, I am sure you can get a TON of suggestions for other high protein foods to eat at this stage.

If you are on full liquids, you probably can't have the "chunky" parts of soup yet. So I would order the soup and just use your spoon to get most of the liquid/broth part and not too much of the chunky bits. If there's a cream soup, bisque, or tomato soup, maybe go with that instead?

Very normal for anxiety to kick in close to surgery. Not only are there the, albeit minute, risks of surgery, but you are committing to a lifelong change! It's a huge deal. And that really starts to sink in once all the paperwork and hoop jumping are over.

@@LuckyLady101515 Good for you for wanting to "pay it forward" so quickly. Glad you are doing well and figuring out what works for you. I remember the glorious day when I was first allowed ground meats and Beans and I headed off to Wendy's for some chili. It was like eating real food after a few weeks of broth, Soup, yogurt and Protein shakes! Glorious! If you need some ideas for foods in the puree stage to keep up the variety, I highly recommend the recipes on this page: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html The Baked Ricotta kept me sane!

I haven't tried those specifically, but I make what I call "burnt cheese" all the time using all sorts of shredded cheeses. It's a great way to get in my protein and have something with a little crunch to it. In terms of nutrition, they have more protein than fat (I always look for that) and they are low carb/sugar, so I say go for it if you don't want to just make your own.

As Babbs said, it's possible you are exercising too much. If you are creating too much of a calorie deficit daily, then your body will go into preservation mode and shut things down completely.

@@fernandfj Welcome! I think family support makes a huge difference. My husband didn't want me to have the surgery. He didn't think I needed it. But he knew it was my decision and since the surgery, he has been nothing but wonderful through my healing process and dealing with my new ways of eating. He has had to adapt right along with me and I am so thankful he hasn't complained once!

You shouldn't have to carry around a measuring cup, but DO weigh and measure your food when you are at home. That way you can get used to what the proper amount looks like and do a better job of eye-balling it ahead of time. What I did in my early days of solid food whenever I was eating out was ask for a to go box at the very beginning, look at my meal when it was first brought to me, estimate what I could safely eat, then put the rest in the to go box right away. That kept me from mindless eating more than I really could before I realized it.

That is actually a great idea for a gift! Not sure I'd have the courage to do it though. It is so amazing that you went through with it and had such a positive and empowering experience. I am sure your hubby is going to love it!

You could eat TWO eggs that early out? I could barely manage one scrambled egg over the course of 30-40 minutes. But I did have them often. I liked to put a little shredded Mexican cheese blend and some taco sauce on mine. Yum!

Sounds like maybe you aren't eating enough? Too few calories for too long can really do a number on your metabolism. It's especially important to make sure you are eating enough calories to sustain your level of activity.

I probably drink way more coffee than I should, which is probably one of the reasons I still have to take omeprazole daily, even though I'm 14 months out now. I can't help myself! I've already given up so much by having this surgery, I couldn't bring myself to give up coffee too! Though I was a good girl and didn't drink any coffee those first 30 days post-op. I started out with one cup a day with lots of cream at the 30 day mark. But now I'm back up to 3 cups a day, sometimes 4!

PS: You should be able to get more than 25 grams of protein in even without shakes or bars. What are you typically eating in terms of real food?

Up until very recently, Quest Bars were the favorite around here. But they recently changed one of their main ingredients and *some* people have difficulty digesting them now (me included). I just switched to Combat Crunch. I was like you and switched from protein shakes to bars the MINUTE I was allowed to eat solid foods. I'll warn you though, that was at 40 days post-op for me and it took me close to an hour to eat a whole bar. They are very dense and heavy and a lot to handle that early out. Not long though before I was able to get a whole bar down in a matter of minutes.

I wasn't allowed coffee until 30 days post-op. You might be better off going with tea this early. Acid is a real concern. I actually had an easier time with hot liquids in my early days than with room temp liquids. For me things either had to be hot or ICE cold to get down without immediately feeling overfull.

My nutritionist never even gave me a calorie range. I personally aimed to try to get to 800 a day as quickly as possible just so I knew I was getting enough to sustain me without feeling weak and tired all the time. I would say that after the first 2-3 months, I was getting around 1100 a day and built that up to where now, in maintenance, I get probably 1500-1800 a day. One thing I think happens if you stay too low on calories for too long is that you really muck up your metabolism. Plus, I try to exercise and be active and I think staying too low on calories doesn't give you the fuel you need to do that. If I weren't exercising and active, I might have been more worried about keeping calories low.

Not to be discouraging, but you might be setting yourself up for some disappointment if you think the "worst part" is over. For most of us, the first few days and weeks are really really rough. Hang in there. Focus on getting your Water in and walking. Stick to the plan. And just take it one day at a time. Definitely come back here to the forums whenever you are feeling hopeless or discouraged. If there is one virtue that will serve you best through this while journey, it's patience. You'll need to be patient as you are moving through the food stages. You'll need to be patient as you are allowing your body to heal. You'll need to be patient when all you can wonder about is whether you will ever feel "normal" again. You will need to be VERY patient with the scale. Everything does get better and easier with time. You just have to be patient and trust in the plan.

I would call and ask about getting a prescription for a PPI (proton -pump inhibitor) instead. Famotidine is an H2 blocker, which are meant more as reactionary, rather than preventative. A PPI would reduce the production of acid in the first place.

Sounds like you are doing great so far and keeping a good attitude. Welcome!

It's pretty common. I don't think anyone is able to get much more than water down the first 24 hours. I think I managed a couple spoon-fulls of broth and a sugar-free popsicle on my second day. Really just try to focus on sip, sip, sipping your water. Tiny little sips every few minutes. Try to get in about one ounce every 15 minutes.

First off, don't stress about the "slow" loss. I was a "slow loser" too and I still eventually made it to goal and I'm now happily maintaining. It's not a race! As long as you stick to the plan, you will get where you need to go. I don't want to undermine your nutritionist, but I found it best not to worry about calories at all. The only macro-nutrient I cared about was Protein. As long as I got my 100 grams of protein in per day, I lost weight. In general, I did try to make sure that anything I ate had more grams of protein than fat. I ended up eating pretty low carb just by default, because I didn't have ROOM for high carb foods while still getting in all of my protein first. If you get in 100 grams of protein a day, drink your Water, and stay active, you will lose the weight. Side note: I don't use creamer in my coffee. I use 2 oz. of soy milk (you could do almond if you prefer), since it's an extra 2 grams of protein for every cup of coffee I drink!

I think there's more than one reason for some of the stages. Mostly it's about making sure you don't give your stomach something it can't handle early on, since it is fragile and healing. But the reason not to eat more solid foods too early is the risk of pieces getting caught in the staple line. Until the tissue around the staple line heals up, there are hundreds of tiny little nooks and crannies where solid foods could get caught and cause abscesses, ulcers, or leaks.

My nutritionist was the same way. She was MUCH more interested in me reaching my body fat percentage goal than my weight goal. And I did in fact reach my body fat percentage goal way before I reached my weight goal. She wanted me to get below 25% body fat which I did. By the time I reached my weight goal, I was down to 22% body fat.

Which meds? My surgeon had me on a prescription for 40mg Omeprazole (Prilosec) and that kept the hearburn and reflux in check for me.

Sorry to hear that.