Ok everyone. I am 18 days post op. I am in the mushy food stage. I am getting concerned because i read on here about ppl only being able to eat 3 tablespoons. That has never been my case. I was eating 1/4 cup jello day after surgery. Today for lunch i had a cup of chili and a side of mashed potatoes. No problem. For dinner 1 cup of Greek yogurt and some mixed fruit. Now I'm not hungry. Ever. And i do feel pain if i eat anything too dense. But during this stage is of normal? If it's s creamy smooth soup i can put down 1-2 cups. My friend who did this 2 months before me said the stricture won't kick in until I'm on full good. Is that correct?

It's true for some liquids don;t fill them up However you are eating a lot of sliders foods. I would just approach foods like mashed potatoes and "white carbs" with caution. I have to admit, though no way could I eat 2 cups of any kind of soup even now and I am at 6mths.

Same here, no way can I eat that much. Since there are no regulatory guidelines on sleeve size, you may just have a larger sleeve. Maybe ask your Dr. about it. Be careful not to overfill your sleeve, since you're still fairly recent to your surgery, you may not have the ability to fully sense what your sleeve can truly hold yet, and you may be overfilling it. Try to slow down the eating a bit, take some time between bites, really chewing well (even if it is mushy). Put your fork/spoon down between bites, and let that puppy fill at a slower pace. Then try to really FEEL where the food hits. When you are full, you are TOO full. You want to be sated. Too full means food is in your esophagus. Good luck to you!

I was told to always weigh out my food..I am 3 weeks out and now on pure Protein...no carbs, no fruit no veggies, no grains. meats, no more than 2 oz eaten slowly at a rate of one oz per ten minutes..yogurts...4-6 oz and no add ins....soup 1/2-3/4 cup only....eggs- one only...cheese , one oz...peanut or nut butter...one tablespoon. Most of the time I can not finish any of these.

Sounds like you are taking in way too much so soon...I would call your nutritionist for advice.

@@Weighting2BeFree

When you are able to eat more solid foods you will feel it. i mean quick too. i had the same issue as you. Trust me. I can only eat about 2-3oz of solid foods if im lucky. I promise, You will get restriction. Dont worry about it.

Protein will fill you up faster. That "side of mash" isn't nutritionally sound nor will it keep you full.

I know white carbs are bad and i normally avoid them. We were at a restaurant with a very limited menu. I'm still losing weight ( about .75 lbs a day) so no complaints. I'm supposedly in the three week stall but still losing. My diet mostly consists of a protein shake, cottage cheese, and tuna packs with a side of soup occasionally. I will email my nut and see what she says

You aren't in a stall if you are losing. This is your time to maximize weight loss and learn good habits.

As for a "limited" menu? You found chili, no reason to add the mash.

I've always heard that during the healing stage (about 6 weeks after surgery) the nerve endings are still raw and healing so you don't always feel what's going on. That's why it's safest to weigh your food until you "learn" what full feels like now. If you eat till you're full, you've eaten too much.

So my plan had my eating no more than 1/2 cup at one time. Even though I could probably eat more I did measure everything out and stuck to my plan. Now that I am 6 weeks out I can move up to 3/4 cup at one time. Depending on the density of the food I can feel restriction of my sleeve. My goal is to still get at least 60+ grams of protein and 64+ oz of water in each day.

Only take 20 minutes to eat and put your spoon down between bites. Its sounds to me that you are eating too much. Are you getting enough Protein? How are your calories?

I am only 2 weeks out and just starting on yogurt. I know I could eat a whole container, but I start to feel different about half way through, so I stop eating.

Eat slowly and listen to your body.

Called my nut. She said no problem eating those amounts right now as its all slider foods and i need to be about 800-1000 cals and up to 1200 when solid food starts. She did say stay away from the starch and be careful of chunky chili but veggie chili is fine. Restriction will start when I'm on solids. Come on solids! Cannot wait.

Thanks for the update. I'm the nosy person who finds it interesting to hear what's allowed on different programs. My doc tends to be more conservative and discourages slider foods. Please check back in when you get to solids. I'd love to hear how you get on then.

I'm 3 weeks post. I can eat one egg.. maybe 3/4's cup of soup.. only 1/2 container of greek yogurt.

I limit starches/carbs. Get your Protein in first.

Edited April 7, 201511 yr by Chrystee

Oh I have the same problem and I am 13 days out. I feel like I can hold a lot of food especially when I read about 3 bites to full by others. My diet is mushy but am noticing that density has a lot to do with feeling anything. Oddly SF pudding is my sort of full food. Tonight I had 1/2 cup of minestrone soup, homemade, mainly broth but it was my first 'one bite too many' feeling. I can feel it in my esophagus...yuck!