I have made myself eat a 4 oz piece of Talipia fish. I chewed, chewed, chewed and chewed and it took about 2 hours of heating and reheating. I made the fish juicy with catsup. How long before eating becomes more normal? I am trying to get my protein in and this piece was 20 g of protein. I think at this rate I will need a protein supplement.

I have made myself eat a 4 oz piece of Talipia fish. I chewed, chewed, chewed and chewed and it took about 2 hours of heating and reheating. I made the fish juicy with catsup. How long before eating becomes more normal? I am trying to get my protein in and this piece was 20 g of protein. I think at this rate I will need a protein supplement.

Looks like we were sleeved on the same day, go to my profile & see what I just posted. I'm still 4 weeks from being able to have fish. 20 min ago, I thought I was going to be smothered to death by a 1/4 size baby bite of pound cake. I suggest we stick with small size soft foods ! LOL . Best of luck, I cant wait until I can have fish.

I drink protein drinks from Costco called Premier High Protein Chocolate. It has 30 gms of protein and tastes pretty good. That helps me get my protein in.

^{oh my, why are you trying to eat a 4oz fish 1 wk post op? 4 ounces is huge at this stage. I'm 3 wks out and i only eat 2 ounces. you need to drink protein shakes, no doubts about that. it should not take you 2 hours to eat something, if it does then it's too big and you shouldn't be eating all of it. also ketchup is a no no, it's all sugar.}

Agree that you need Protein drinks at this point or greek yogurt maybe. Don't make yourself miserable like this. My program (Kaiser Fremont) guidelines had us eat protein first and no more than you can tolerate. Eat three meals per day and have a Protein shake in the evening until you can get enough protein from food. I could eat about 1 oz. of soft protein, such as lunch meat, moist fish or chicken, when I was about three weeks out. Sometimes I had two Protein Drinks per day to get in enough.

Lynda

hahah I thought that said 40 oz at first. I about fell outta my chair!

Dont force it - at this point, Protein drinks are still important - I still have 1 a day - sometimes 2.

The premiere Protein shakes are the cat's pajamas. LOVE them

try eating 5 smaller meals instead of 3 meals.

Also - maybe try lemon juice instead of catsup? That catsup is full of sugar and can add up in calories and take up valuable protein space

Everyone's surgeon has different guidelines and many allow soft foods within just a few weeks of surgery. So long as you're following your particular surgeon's food guidelines I wouldn't worry.

Eating was my most favorite thing in the world, pre VSG. Honestly, I think I enjoyed food more than my husband! (Kidding!)

Post op it became a hated chore that required work and planning on my part. I had to make a food plan at the start of each day and log it into myfitnesspal to be sure I'd meet my nutritional goals. I often failed - at least for the first 4-6 months.

Slowly but surely things will get more normal for you. Not only will you be able to eat more, but you'll start to lose that expectation that you'll clean your plate or eat at the same pace as the people around you. It's a hard mental adjustment to make but it really does get easier with time.

As for how long it will be before you can eat that four ounces of fish more quickly? Who knows? You might be like me and have ridiculous restriction at more than a year out. I can tell you it would take me about thirty minutes to eat that tilapia, but if it were salmon I wouldn't be able to finish a whole four ounces as it's a denser fish - more meaty. Or you might be like the average sleever and be able to eat that four ounces along with some vegetables and maybe even a few bites of rice at one year out. Life will be easier for you if that's the case, I think!

Enjoy it. It's hard at first and very frustrating. But honestly, I love that food no longer controls me. Once upon a time I'd have eaten twice as much fish along with a plate full of rice and vegetables and been hungry for dessert afterward.

~Cheri

Firstday and monalisa1010 we all had our surgery the same time, you two were a day before me and I am having a miserable time also. I am able to move on to the mushy foods and everything I put in my mouth make me sick. I dread when it's time to force myself to eat something.

hahah I thought that said 40 oz at first. I about fell outta my chair!

Dont force it - at this point, Protein drinks are still important - I still have 1 a day - sometimes 2.

The premiere protein shakes are the cat's pajamas. LOVE them

try eating 5 smaller meals instead of 3 meals.

Also - maybe try lemon juice instead of catsup? That catsup is full of sugar and can add up in calories and take up valuable protein space

Lol I thought about it was a 40 oz too and I almost have a heart attack lol

I bet it felt like 40 oz! That's a lot of food at this stage!

Thank you all for your comments. I have been trying to use the protein supplements and I hate them! I am sick of the post surg shakes I drank. I think I can tolerate the bariatric Advantage pre op meal replacements a little better. I bought Muscle Milk and can't stand it! The protein shots upset my stomach as do the muscle milk.

I'm still trying to force down cottage cheese and the fish and some Egg Beater. I think I'm getting it down a little better. Still a long way to go. I am following the doctors instruction sheet on what to and what not to eat. I'm to stay on this from day 22 to day 40. Also, I took the catsup advice to heed and am using unsweetened applesauce instead with the fish.

Thanks again.

Try to get your hands on some Premier Protein chocolate it is wonderful. 11 oz and 30 grams of protein. I even put mine in the freezer for a few minutes and it makes it alittle more slushy. It is awesome.

Hope this helps.

Where do you purchase your Premier Protein Chocolate?

Where do you purchase your Premier Protein chocolate?

Sams and costco both carry it.

Thank you all for your comments. I have been trying to use the Protein supplements and I hate them! I am sick of the post surg shakes I drank. I think I can tolerate the Bariatric Advantage pre op meal replacements a little better. I bought Muscle Milk and can't stand it! The protein shots upset my stomach as do the muscle milk.

I'm still trying to force down cottage cheese and the fish and some Egg Beater. I think I'm getting it down a little better. Still a long way to go. I am following the doctors instruction sheet on what to and what not to eat. I'm to stay on this from day 22 to day 40. Also, I took the catsup advice to heed and am using unsweetened applesauce instead with the fish.

Thanks again.

Heinz now makes a low sugar ketchup you might want to see if your local grocer carries it!

Lol I read 40 ounces at first!