Penguin733

7 minutes ago, LindsayT said:

If I have bread with a meal, it not very big, maybe a half to quarter piece. Rice and Pasta, about a quarter cup. I like brown rice and whole wheat (or Protein pasta) Pasta for the extra nutrition.

Are you drinking a lot of calories? Maybe that's contributing to not eating more than 2 meals.

Whatever you eat, just get in your Protein goals and Fiber, and make sure to stay at your calorie goal.

I only drink Water, body armor, and ensure Protein Shakes, so no not really drinking a lot of calories.

I've been having pretzel crackers with cheese and eating a lot cheese but just unlucky in it adding any weight...

1 hour ago, LindsayT said:

Don't get back into junk and empty calories... that'll snowball fast. Compensate with healthy fats complex carbs, and the occasional treat. I like to add the occasional bread, Pasta, or rice to a meal if I want more. But that's after I eat my healthy stuff first. If you're going to the gym, maybe more Protein.

I've been unable to do rice (which is a shame since in my culture 90% of our food is rice based) and maybe because I ate too fast before but sandwiches have been a bit tough but I'll try again. Haven't tried Pasta since the surgery.

And I'm trying with the Protein through bars and shakes; haven't tried making porkchops and steaks, although I do luncheon/charcuterie meat, korean short ribs, bbq (as slow cooked/smoked meat has been easy to digest) but I still get full and don't feel like eating more than that for the rest of the day (which again, only eat two meals a day at most).

On 1/27/2024 at 10:00 AM, Allen Grateful said:

Hi Penguin,

Nice job. What surgery did you have and is that your goal weight?

Hey, sorry for the late reply. I got the sleeve and my goal weight is 170-175, but I'm currently at 155. And to be quite honest, I'm hoping to add more weight so I can reach back to 170-175.

I'm currently having this issue as I'm almost a year (9 months) into it; I was satisfied with my 160 for a couple of weeks ago, but I'm currently at 155 and I'm starting to get worried. I know I haven't been eating more than a meal or two a day which can be the reason, but I'm having a tough time in going beyond two meals. Should I just load up in empty calories and junky Snacks? I'm also trying to go to the gym more regularly so the muscles can gain more pounds.

I'm 6'1 and my weight pre-op was at 265 at my heaviest. I am 6-month post-op and sitting at 175lbs.

Thanks guys, I'm almost 6 months out (which in hindsight I should've mentioned before) and I've always struggled with my weight from fat to underweight to obese (hence why I did the surgery). So, I got really paranoid as I finally hit my mark and plateau'd as I thought that was it, then earlier last week and past few days I noticed the number decreasing so I thought I might go underweight again and this time couldn't do anything about it, but good to hear it's somewhat normal and that I'll surely recover over time it seems.

So I've been at my goal weight, but I'm still losing weight. I'm trying my best to maintain it and it's becoming difficult to do so. How do I healthily stay at the weight I'm at?

I've tried the steps I found online like having more smaller meals throughout the day or adding more calories, but I don't have the appetite to do so and clearly can't eat as much as I used to due to the surgery. Would high Protein foods work despite it being low in calories?

Has anyone else run into this unexpected predicament? Or know of some good advice?

I understand that I wasn't allowed to have ibuprofen/advil during recovery, but I am currently 4 months out and was wondering if it's okay to have now? I've got a real bad headache and Tylenol never works, but Advil always did so I was wondering if I can finally use it again?

Hello all, I'm near 7 weeks post-op and I was wondering if the feeling in the stomach while eating will forever be present?

Sorry if that's vague, but since being let loose with no restrictions I am being consciousness to not take big bites, chewing/eating slowly, and that I need to reintroduce foods, but when I eat I still get a feeling in my stomach like when you eat with an empty stomach and it clunks, something different from feeling full. It's honestly putting me off from eating from time to time and was wondering if there's an end to where I can just eat normally and feel full? As with things I've been already familiarized myself with during recovery (popsicles, steamed veggies, and Protein shakes) seem to be not an issue.

I used to sleep on my side before the surgery, but since the surgery every once in a while I sleep on my back and now sleep with my mouth open & snore which I haven't done since I was a kid! Getting annoyed with waking up to a dry mouth and I know it's not good health wise; anyone else experience this weird phenomenon? Or is it just me? lol

On 8/31/2023 at 1:15 PM, Tomo said:

I think by eating normally, they really meant that you can now introduce new foods without restrictions. From now on, you'll always have to take it slow, chew well, don't drink food until at least 30 minutes after... Etc.

I really did misunderstand what they meant, I'm doing best with food I've been having and even though I'm 6-7 weeks post op I thought I'd have no issues with anything, but it is what you said it's that I'll have no restrictions in now allowing to *reintroduce* everything else I hadn't before. 😕

Still a bit of a hurdle, but I'm definitely out of the painful part lately as it's a very full feeling (which I'm grateful for as I used to never feel full pre-op) and an uncomfortable bubbling feeling at worst with stuff I haven't tried.

2 hours ago, ChunkCat said:

Did you eat rice with the poke bowl? I've read on the forums that bread, tortilla, rice, etc...can all sit heavy early on and tend to clump together when you eat them which causes that lump feeling in your belly. I bet even certain veggies can do that. They are all on my "wait a while" food list.

I did not, I opt'd out for more cooked veggies like Beans and corn.

So, this coming Tuesday I'll be 6wks post-op and I still feel like I'm suffering when I try to eat. I've been having my popsicles and shakes fine, but every once in a while I feel clogged up in my chest when trying my soft foods. I tried having a quesadilla earlier this week that was alright, but today I tried doing a poke bowl since it was soft foods via fresh fish, soft veggies, etc, but it felt uncomfortable going down that it took me 30min to digest it and have it be comfortable in me; does that ever get easier? I can totally be fine with the full filling, but eating is still unenjoyable for me because of this. I was told I should be able to eat normally by now (or at least by this Tuesday), and I can understand that everyone heals different and I might need longer, so I was wondering how long it took you guys to get over this hump? And any suggestions to help subside the pain in the mean time?

So, I work with a lot of heavy lifting (wine boxes and loading them into u-boats, etc) and work has been accommodating to me, but I noticed that I was scheduled for a shift to basically go back into that on my 5th week from surgery date and I was advised to not do heavy lifting until the 6th week; is it going to cause complications? Or do you think it'll be manageable? 😬

15 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

It could be from eating too quickly but it could also be that some foods just seem to sit more heavily too (potatoes, bread, rice & Pasta still do for me) & make you feel uncomfortable. Check your portion sizes too. Not necessarily that you may be eating too much but more that it’s too much for your healing tummy to manage at the moment - we all heal differently & can mange/tolerate different foods & portions. Try smaller portions & try some different purée options. Sometimes we just have to be more tentative in our choices &/or go a little more slowly through the stages.

Yeah, it's honestly getting to the point where it's making me feel nauseous after I eat. And I would think the portions are fine when I'm eating just a single serving of yogurt and one Protein Shake at a time (both separately), but I'm trying my absolute best in having my required amount of Water and Protein, but this has been inhibiting me from doing so. Like I can only do 55g of protein at most out of the recommended 80-90g.

And I am going back to work tomorrow and I want to make sure I'm ready and have enough energy as I have very much on my feet walking a lot job, and because of this issue it is also stopping me from having my complete water/hydration amount to the point where I still get lightheaded if I get up too fast and the only way to stop it is drink more water which I can't do because I keep hitting that wall! It's so frustrating!!

So I did my surgery on July 11th, and I'm currently on my puree stage and I've been doing Soups, mashed potatoes, and yogurt outside of my liquids, but I've been getting some mild discomfort when eating. Not really sure if it's normal; like it feels like an empty stomach cramp but goes away after a time, but doesn't happen when I drink my fluids. Am I eating too fast? Or is it something else? Will this inhibit me from moving forward to soft foods?

I used to love having a baguette and can of sardines before my gastric sleeve surgery, but now obviously I can't have bread for a while and I learned I can't have leafy greens until I get to solids, but as I'm getting closer to soft foods I'm excited to have fish again and I was wondering what could I do to substitute bread with my tuna salads and sardines?

I know what you mean! But once you're over the liquid diet hump, everything is a breeze! I'm almost done with the pureed stage and didn't feel nearly as excruciatingly long as the liquid, heck, I even stuck with liquids rather than pureed with added high Protein yogurts and adding gel fruit cups. You'll get to shredded chicken in soft foods in no time!

1 hour ago, Arabesque said:

I cooked with mushrooms from soft - omelettes usually but also mince dishes & casseroles.

I would think it would be a no to wings for some time. One of our biggest enemies is food that is too dry & coarse especially in the first months. It can sort of get stuck & cause the foamies. chicken breast, even skinless, is a common culprit. So a wing which is traditionally drier would be worse & then frying it, even air frying would make it more dry & the crispy skin would be dry & coarse as well. Even in soft food, you food should be moist, tender & have some sort of gravies, sauces to help you chew & swallow the food. If you want chicken, try thigh (boned or deboned), baked or sautéed in a pan & flavour with any herbs or spices you usually enjoy with your wings. Thighs are more tender (& flavoursome).

Of course check with your team. Plans can be different as we all know & then it depends upon what we can tolerate.

Oh interesting! I do love chicken thighs, so I can probably do a curry or maybe marinade the thighs (or wings, with aapproval of nutritionist) to tenderize it. Thanks for the advice.

So I'm currently creating my grocery list for next week when I land on soft foods, and I was curious when do I get to eat mushrooms? As that's one of my favorite vegetables and I see that they're bariatic safe online but nothing that says when I can eat them.

I'm also curious about chicken/turkey wings, as I have an air fryer I figured that'll be an easy way to have a "fried" fixing since I can do up the skin perfectly crisp. Is that okay too at the soft stage?

When I get to the soft foods stage, will I be able to have rice or noodles? I live in a very diverse city where pho & indian food is highly prevelant so I was wondering if those would be allowed? I know with curries since they're already in a pureed consistency they'll be okay even during pureed stage so as long as I don't eat the meat chunks in it. Unless I shred the chicken? And is tofu and/or paneer (in Indian food) considered soft or can I eat it in pureed stage? I'll of course ask my dietician when I go in tomorrow, but I was curious if y'all had any experience or issues.

Be sure to bring a charger for your mobile, I forgot to bring mine and was bored out of my mind once it ran out of battery lol. Or if you have a Nintendo Switch, highly recommend bringing that. And I went in with pj's as those were easy to slip in to and very comfy after the surgery.

Gas pains was definitely something I didn't expect! See if you can get a nurse to help you walk around! Walking definitely helped expedite the healing process for gas pains for me personally, by third or fourth day post-op they were gone! When you get discharged, it'll be difficult but try to set a timer to walk every 2 hrs! Helped me a ton!

9 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

Purées still have to be pretty soft & runny. Think sloppy, gloopy & dollopy to help you swallow your food & make it easier for your still healing tummy to digest. Refried Beans can be on puréed food list but you may have to add some stock or gravy, etc. to make them runny enough. The patty itself would be fine in the soft food stage. But do check with your team to be sure about their requirements.

Dang, but that makes sense. I just recall seeing a post about it in an old thread here so I hadn't really considered it but I did go ahead and emailed my dietician while making this post too. Just sent it after hours so she won't be able to get back to me until tomorrow at the earliest. And I'm totally fine with them not being ok, I'm fine with Soup, yogurt, cottage cheese, and mashed potatoes just anything other than the Protein Shakes & gatorade I've been stuck with for these two weeks in post-op for my liquid phase lol. I've been slowly going mad with just that. lol

My moment was when it clicked that I could afford it; I always struggled with my weight fluctuating but I was getting to the point where I was just getting bigger despite all my efforts in exercising (and I always liked going to the gym, would even go for 2hrs), but I was simply eating more than I was putting out, on top of which I never felt full awhen eating + my insatiable hunger when my depression would hit, so I needed a physical stop.

I opt'd for the sleeve as it would still allow me to eat what I like, but rather smaller portions. And with positive attestations from family members and friends I went ahead with it.

I'm nearing two weeks post-op and don't regret it so far, I am just begging for the liquid diet to end just so I can have diversity in what I eat lol; currently getting burned out on just having Protein Shakes and gatorade.