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Did you have the same problems during your liquid and pureed phases? If not it might be worth going back a step to purees as summerseeker has suggested. I do understand that chewing food really thoroughly is basically the same thing, but it takes the guesswork and possibilities for errors out of the equation. I know I am weird but I quite enjoyed my pureed food (because it was my first non-protein drink intake for almost a month). So tasty 😍 At 2.5 weeks I was just just onto pureed food, made with a LOT of liquid, and I was eating about 40-60mls (1-2oz) of goo for a meal, depending on how much protein was in it. We are all so different. I have seen people here thrive on solids much earlier. If your surgical team are confident that it isn't a post op complication you might have room to experiment a little. At 2.5 weeks fluids are paramount - there is wiggle room with protein and other macros in most programmes. I hope it all settles really quickly for you - sounds unpleasant.

Detoxes are a fallacy. Don’t get caught up in social media ******. If your kidneys and liver are functioning correctly your body is already detoxifying itself. Was it your surgeon who did the upper GI and barium test? If not, as @WendyJane, suggested, I’d go back to the to see what might be the cause. No one should suffer pain. An elimination diet like fodmap may be helpful to see if a specific food is causing you the discomfort or do some tests for food allergies or sensitivities . It’s not uncommon to develop sensitivities or allergies to specific foods after surgery. Something to consider or to discuss with your surgeon anyway. In the meantime maybe try some less dense foods like soups or like the purée stage foods for few days and slowly introduce more solid foods and see if texture or density is an influence on the pain and your inability to eat more than a couple of bites. Hope you can find some answers soon.

I'm just over two weeks post op. I was cleared for the pureed stage of foods, so I've been eating pureed foods since Monday. But no matter what I do, it just sits too heavy in my stomach. I feel too full despite eating the same volume as I did with liquids. There was a meal or two where I felt ok, but mostly too full. So I'm going back to liquids. Have I damaged anything by eating purees too soon? Have I set myself too far back in my recovery?

Today's win ? Returned to weight lifting after what seems like a 200 year hiatus. 🤣 Nothing extreme or crazy....very light weights with lots of reps. Injury avoidance is key concern. Other win is the overall feeling like I have things dialed in and the cruise control is activated. The positive feels from this are so welcome. The last 6 years or more have been chaotic and hellish at times. Things are slowing down and falling into place. Sure the scale is giving lower numbers every week, but the real improvement has been with the pure simplicity of returning to the initial advisements of the professionals at my bariatric center.

I too skipped the whole pureed stage, continued on thicker liquids (mainly lentil and chicken soup) and protein shakes.

I was on a liquid diet then a full liquid diet. Followed by a soft protein only, so you are not weird about the no fruit and veggies. I have had no fruits or veggies yet and I'm only 5 weeks out from surgery. I'm still taking in soft protein. I did reward myself on Friday with a Pretzel and I made sure I softened it and chewed it a bunch before swallowing it, but having the crunch was so satisfying. That's the thing I miss most is the crunch. I had no puree diet following surgery. Soft protein, my go to is Ricotta Bake, and my husband makes it with spices and uses pizza sauce for further flavor. It is creamy and cheesy and really filling. So, just wanted to chime in that you are not alone in the no fruit/veggie department.

It’s been ok, I’m ready for puree stage next week. I want something different to eat. Good luck to you with surgery, let me know if you have any questions

When I had Tuna for the first time, it was in my soft food stage and it was heavy to eat. In puree, I stuck with cottage cheese, creamy soups, yogurt, mashed beans, and "ricotta bake". I would say try puree, but nix the tuna for now. I wasn't eating more than a 1/4 cup at a time.

I puréed a few things. (Tinned fish was the worst - disgusting.) You can purée quite a few proteins (wouldn’t do steak but you could do minced beef) as long as you add enough liquids like stock, milk, gravy or water. Or you can use things like mayo, ricotta, cottage cheese with eggs or chicken (like an egg salad). Really it comes down to how your taste buds react to certain flavours in these first weeks or if you’re repelled by the texture. I could eat scrambled eggs (I made them pretty soft with extra milk), instant rolled oats (again extra milky), and I would puree chunkier soups. I did have baby food a couple of times when I couldn’t eat what I’d pureed. A lot of people swear by a ricotta bake. Sure someone has a recipe they could post.

Which do you prefer for your protein? Meat? or plant base foods?

Just Double check your teams plan. That is WAY more food than I was allowed volume wise. I think I was doing like 1-2 oz a meal when I was first on puree and I don’t recall even being on puree that early out. (Some plans to vary) Just be sure to take it really slow and make sure you don’t overdo it. Too much at once volume wise could make you feel very sick but even worse it could injure your healing insides. There is always next Thanksgiving. Or have the variety you want, just spread it over a few days instead of having that all in one meal.

How is everyone doing?? I am 22 days post op VSG and feeling great at the moment. 25# and several inches, tolerating all my liquids and hitting my protein goals. Currently on puree diet and excited to be moving to soft diet next week 😍

I never* used them. My plan called for 3 meals per day, each containing 20+ grams of protein through meat (usually). Days 1 - 30 post-op were the same plan pureed. Day 31 forward not pureed any longer. How much protein, of what sort, and how often, is very much a personal decision in consultation with your medical team. Good luck, Tek * Never in normal times. However, when I was binge running, ramping up for marathons, my plan increased from 3 meals per day, to 4, then 5, then 6, then 6 + a protein drink. I fealt like I was eating all day long. I hated it.

I also couldn't eat without something to do. I think a timer is the best option. I've had one meeting with a psychologist after my surgery who told us about mindful eating and taking the time to appreciate the food and eat it slowly and really enjoy it, but purees and soft stage foods aren't much to wrote home about so I struggle with that part

Just adding to my accountability post! Had a reality check recently. As I was going over food log I noticed that I was letting too much processed stuff creep into my routine – protein bars, powders, low-carb bread, cookies (not just 1) fast food (small amounts but still) – and my gut wasn’t having it. I had to get honest with myself about what I was actually eating. So, I hit the reset button and went back to whole, real foods. I even started making my own sourdough again, and let me tell you, the bloat is basically gone, my energy is up, and that annoying food noise is finally quieting down. The scale is moving down, but more importantly, I just feel so much better!

Curious if you ever found out what this was and if it has improved over the years. I am currently 2 months post op TDS and I am experiencing the burning now. Found out some foods were the culprit, but even on a more bland diet I am experiencing burning when going. I swore I had hemorrhoids, possibly fissures, but went to my primary care doc and she examined outer and inner and said no hemorrhoids and no fissures. All I can surmise is that with our new plumbing, the food goes down one way, all of the acids and bile through the other limb, and the acids/bile are full strength once they hit the food at the common channel and mix with the food for the 3 feet or so of the common channel before entering the large intestines/colon. Sucralose ferments in the colon, but I rarely ingest anything with that in it. I think I need to dial back my fats intake as a next step. Lidocaine is my friend for now, but looking for insight if it improves with time and/or what you found helped. Thank you!!

Hi, Sorry you're experiencing this, but I am quite sure that it is very early out for you to be having regular food at 2.5 weeks. Every single region I have researched heavily emphasizes on waiting at least 6 weeks until you can have regular food (whatever you were able to eat prior to WLS). At 2.5 weeks blended soups and Greek yogurt felt like a brick in my stomach. If you could maybe wait a few more weeks and stay on pureed/soft foods then please do, you could harm your staples eating solids so early on.

Well done @AmberFL! I know it sounds trite, but "you are what you eat" is LITERALLY true. The food that you consume doesn't just "fuel" our bodies, it's literally the building blocks of our actual cells. You are in fact wholly made up of everything you've eaten, so it only makes sense that the better the quality of your food, the better off you'll be.

I like that the surgery seems to have dampened or eliminated your food noise.

I did eat puree fruits and veggies but meat was just gross. I made sure to get my protein in from shakes and had a bit of fruit and veggies to get in some fiber.

Eughhhh. I hate when store bought food doesn't even try to live up to its promise. Yeah I agree, chuck that second portion - life's too short!

Doing great thanks, on pureed stage, losing very slowly! I think I am retaining water, trying to up my intake! 🤔🚰💦 Overall feeling positive and learning all about my bodies new normal lol. 😁 Broke my under 100kg mini goal this morning!! 99.9kg hey, I'll take it! 🤣

Yes, i had this after my gastric sleeve. Id almost pass out a couple of hours after eating when doing anything physical like walking. As a nurse, it was alarming for not only myself but my patients when I had to rush out of room before i collapsed. I kept a food diary and very quickly identified foods which triggered this. For me, it was white bread/pasta/rice so i switched to wholegrain or wholemeal. I also couldnt eat fatty foods with pastry like meat pie or sausage rolls regardless of the amount. Id recommend keeping track of your food to help you identify your trigger foods then you can learn to avoid them completely or refrain from having prior to activity.

Hello everyone! I'm checking in - @ShoppGirl- It sounds like you've really been through the wringer! You are a superstar for managing both chemo, a virus, and surgery recovery all at the same time and I hope you're being gentle with yourself and giving yourself lots of pats on the back! @Chatterbox - YES - portion sizes have gotten more flexible; for me taking an ADEK supplement has helped with the hair shedding; I've gone through that to a point as well and typically have VERY thick hair and I've noticed some extra shedding but even with that it hasn't thinned my hair dramatically. @Justarwaxx - You're doing great!! Please be kind to yourself! With increased activity level the calorie consumption does have to go up so you can keep up your energy! Now that I'm using my Fitbit I am able to better see my activity levels - I haven't hit 10k in a day but I got close a couple of days and my average went below 5k per day while I was sick as well (Gosh it's going around!) but I think the important thing is to LISTEN to your body, give it fuel, and just try to have more calories spent than you take in. I'm burning over 3k calories more days than not so if I eat a few carbs, a piece of bread once in a while, a half a sandwich, some veggies - that's ok. I think a lot of it is knowing and understanding the difference like so many have said on 'head hunger' vs 'physical hunger'. Usually at a given meal I eat maybe a total of a cup of food; I try to aim for at least half of each meal to be protein, then veggies, then maybe a little rice or other starch. I'm hit and miss on my food logging; I slipped for a few weeks and am trying to reset. I wanted to repost these recipes I used during the puree period because I don't know about ya'll but I tend to find things that work well and then totally forget they exist! Lately I've been doing lots of soups for myself and my family. I made an easy chicken noodle soup yesterday with half a rotisserie chicken breast, I steamed carrots and celery in the microwave until they were soft, sautéed some diced onion in garlic and onion with a little chicken broth, then added it all together with the cooked chicken breast cut up and more chicken brother. I threw in a small handful of egg noodles and let it all simmer. When I do something like a soup with meat I try to serve myself up a bowl that is heavy on the chicken and light on the veggies. You can do basically the same thing with broccoli, cabbage, and canned or fresh diced tomatoes. Fluids and healthy veggies with a protein is my go to; and I'm doing pretty well with my personal progress. You all got this! Don't get discouraged when you go through stalls; some weeks I will lose about 2 lbs and then the next week I might lose 6 lbs; it's all a process and the weight loss will slow and become more steady as long as you watch your calories, eat healthy at least 80-90% of the time - it's about getting your nutrients and staying at a calorie deficit. ❤️ Reposted recipes from earlier: "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 time. 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. Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each.

hi my paperwork says from week 3-4 purree and week 5-6 soft foods then onto normal food. I am also am missing savory food..