Pickiest of eaters!

[Swampyspouse 19]

Hey everyone, my husband is 2 wks post op, god it feels longer than that! He's not having any issues except the feeling of having not a lot of energy.

This wks diet is called the soft food week. He has always been sooo picky, not a lot of variety in his diet! The diet this wk calls for 60 to 80 grams of Protein each day. I don't see how it is possible!

He will not consider puréed meat or baby food. A lot of things he can eat this wk are of the carb variety. Any good Protein suggestions? If your portions are so small I just can't see how you will get that much protein!

Next week is the "real food diet" as we call it. If he can handle it now, what would be the harm in starting a wk early? It would be a lot easier to get the protein by meat or chicken. I realize that he would have to chew, chew, chew! He has not had the stuck issues that I see a lot of people talk about.

Also a question about eating between meals. Do you eat only the 3 meals or do you have a bite or 2 of something in between?

He will not weigh until Thursday, his first post op dr. Visit. He says he is starting to feel the loss when he fastens his pants. He does not complain at all of being hungry.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Shells_Almost_There 357]

I don't know if any of this will be helpful, but during this stage, I stuck with 2 Premier Protein shakes per day (to get higher Protein numbers and it counts as liquids), plus I ate refried Beans (mushed up and chewed to liquid) and Laughing Cow cheese wedges. On rough days, I had 3 Premier shakes to get my 90 grams the easy way. When I wanted flavor, I had my Better Than Bouillon cup of broth, or I'd go to Panera for chicken noodle Soup and eat only the broth. From time to time, I would have instant mashed potatoes with a little bit of chicken gravy. It tasted so good and went down easily. I am an uber-picky eater as well, so this is what got me through. I would not eat pureed meat or baby food. I don't like yogurt and can barely stand pudding. Also, I hate the taste of whey, and only the Premier Protein Shakes taste good to me. So, I was very limited too, and sort of mixed the full liquids and pureed stage into something I could handle for that 2 week period.

I absolutely do not think he should move to the next stage early - follow the doctor's plan to a "T." His huge staple line is healing and you don't want him to do anything that could cause a problem during these early weeks. As my surgeon explained to me, these are the crucial healing weeks - it is not about weight loss right now, it's about healing properly - since the "harm" could be damaging the staple line. But, as always, check with the doctor before deviating even a bit from the program that is outlined. Hang in there!

ETA: Also, during these early weeks it's rare to feel hunger - I was super bored which made me want to eat, but I didn't actually feel like I needed to eat. And of course, this is how we get dehydrated and end up back in the hospital. It's such a balancing act - for 2 months I couldn't seem to get in my daily Water requirement and even now I sometimes miss it and feel so dry. Hunger does return but those first weeks are just regulating oneself to the new circumstances and the new stomach!

Edited January 20, 2014 by Shells_Almost_There

[Swampyspouse 19]

Shell, that gravy and potato idea is a great one. Of course I know to go light on the potatoes! Your diet and his sound a lot alike!

Good thought about the healing and moving along too fast. Thanks so much for the ideas!

[Bandista 7,466]

My surgeon described full liquids as those which would slide off a plate turned on it's side. Very soupy. I enjoyed potato leek Soup during this time, though I was not very hungry. I was allowed to have egg drop soup and that was yummy. All programs are different and you'll want to follow the guidelines perfectly. I was told that if I'm not hungry, don't eat and not to worry about Protein goals during this time. I had enough shakes on a pre-op diet that I didn't want those post-op. Have only just made friends with the blender again over the last few weeks or so! Good luck with coming weeks. It's important to know this is the healing phase and then the band will need adjusting to have it work properly once the appetite returns. It's a good time for behavior modification, recognizing hunger and nailing down triggers for emotional eating. Also the obvious need for slowing way down and noticing the body's reaction to food, how things really taste, etc. That will be important later. Best wishes!

[kimk1999 450]

I'm glad you're here looking for suggestions for your husband. Unless I missed it, I'm not sure what surgery he actually had. I had the band and that's where I'm coming from....

First off, he really needs to follow his doctors orders. They definitely suck and get tiring but his surgeon felt they were important for a reason. I had two weeks of liquid and two weeks of mushies. I could not stand it when my meat was puréed to oblivion but I could eat it if it was pulsed to a pulp. There was still some texture but it was very well blended. I'm a texture eater and pure puréed made me gag.

With all that being said, there are some people on here that their surgeons didn't give them much restriction / limited diet post op. So they were eating solid foods very quickly post op. I don't recommend it, but after reading those people I did cheat a bit and had a few Snacks I wasn't supposed to but it was the holidays. Again, I strongly suggest that he follows his doctors orders, but if he absolutely must deviate he needs to be very very careful. Take extremely small bites and chew it till it's mush. You really don't want to risk something getting stuck and throwing up so shortly after surgery. He really needs time to heal. Even if he's feeling ok, he shouldn't push it.

Plus he might have more boredom hunger as someone else mentioned and it might not be real hunger. Have him drink fluids slowly and see if that helps. This phase will be over soon.

[Shells_Almost_There 357]

You know, I assumed he had the sleeve in my reply! Please ignore any "sleeve specific" stuff in my response if he didn't have the sleeve

[B-52 7,113]

In my family...I am the pickiest of eaters....thanks to the band, my tastes vary from day to day....

I realized, when my Wife gets together a shopping list, I do not contribute...I do not ask for, and she does not get me anything but the simplest of things.....like coffee, etc...

I do my own food shopping, and can get by with just a carry basket...no shopping cart needed....

[SuperFab 689]

Keep in mind there are LOTS of mushies that you can mix unflavored Protein into to meet his Protein goals. One of the best is by powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury at unjury.com. (Personal preference, of course)

April

[melmommy04 23]

I'm kind of a picky eater so this is concerning me. I'm still pre op so I have time to ask questions.

[Swampyspouse 19]

I actually have placed an order yesterday for the Unjury unflavored.

If all the raves are true it will be a big help!

[SoccerMomma73 1,867]

I actually have placed an order yesterday for the Unjury unflavored. If all the raves are true it will be a big help!

really hope you like it!!! I could bury a little in pudding and cream Soups but could still taste it so wasn't a big fan.

[scarlet333 386]

I agree with the other posters about following doctors orders even if he has not had problems with stuck issues. The stomach is still healing. The first few weeks the Protein and Water goals were just that goals. My doctor said I should not force anything and just try to get closer and closer toward the goals as the days passed. One of the things I ate or drank was cream of chicken or pea Soup which both have Protein and are easy to digest. I would stay away from potatoes that was not on my diet until further out and you don't want to start in with the carbs. Also good was 1% cottage cheese, greek yogurt, unjury chicken Soup, turkey chili.

[CBT 450]

I'm not giving you a hard time or being snarky. I'm curious as to why he's not asking us these questions?

I ate very little variety in the beginning. Energy is low. My staples were premier RTD chocolate shakes, Greek yogurt, refried Beans, puréed lentils, cottage cheese with blended salsa.

I puréed Soup. You can make anything mushy with enough chicken broth

I had an aversion to sweet. Preferred savory. I craved Protein.< /p>