Hi!

I am 3 weeks post operated and I am on muchy food. This is what the dr. given me...

Soft Diet after Gastric Band Surgery

{Non-veg}

[2-4 weeks]

General Principles

1.No liquids 15 minutes before & 1 hour after a meal.

2.A meal means 4-5 teaspoonful of food to be eaten slowly.

3.You may remain hungry after a meal but please wait for 20-30 minutes &

then you should feel full/satiated. If you still remain hungry, then please

contact us.

4.Average meal interval should be 4-6 hours.

5.Avoid sugars & use sugar substitute

6.Minimum oil to be consumed /day

7.No soft drinks [even diet ones] / Tea / coffee

8.Always eat Proteins first.

9.Eat siowly.

10. Daily walks

11.Water intake 2 litres

Breakfast- Oatmeal/Wheat porridge in skimmed milk

or

Idli with sambhar (no oil), no coconut chutney

or

Tofu , preferably fat free

or

Egg white -[ scrambled, half boiled, poached]

or

Lassi made from skimmed milk , sugar substitute

or

Low fat paneer

lunch - Khichdi /Semisolid dal / Minced fish or chicken , well- cooked

vegetables and curd / low fat yogurt.

Dinner-Veg Soup with dal / egg-white or Chicken soup

You may interchange any of the above items at meals.

In addition, you can have

Skimmed milk-150 ml twice daily-not with meals

Ensure

Low fat yogurt /Curd [of skimmed milk or low fat milk]

Papaya / melon / pear / stewed apple.

I would like to compair with others as half of this foods I can't get here or eat. What are you aloud during the 3-4 weeks diet?? Does anyone have a meaurement how much to eat of Protein, vegetables, fruit, ensure a day?? I feel I am over eating... but at the same time I feel I need to eat to get enough protein a day. Has anybody get any feeling of fullness after eating. How do you know that you are full???? Or should one never feel full???

I would appreachiate any help...

:help:

Uh.....where do you live? I don't recognize half the foods you are mentioning.....

If you are 3 weeks out you probably only have another week before being on solids, right? Most doctors get you on solids by 4 weeks...some stretch it out a little.

Don't worry about being full. This is the healing time, and the band isn't working for you yet, and isn't supposed to. You won't feel the "full force" of the band until you've probably had about 2 fills (this is highly individual, though...I am just talking from "typical").

My doctor considered mushies/soft foods to include things like cottage cheese, baked fish, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, creamed Soups, cooked vegetables (not the fibrous kind like asparagus or broccoli stems), eggs, anything the consistency of baby food. I didn't have a specific diet to go on...it was just a list of soft foods that would work.

You can supplement what you are eating with protein shakes. They have become a staple in my life. If you can't get them locally (wherever you are) you can order on line, but there should be a health store somewhere you can get this stuff. I like Dymatize Elite Whey Protein isolate powder. Comes in several flavors and I like Cafe Mocha and mix with 8 oz of skim milk in a blender with ice. I drink that every morning and it gives me 23 gms of protein right off the bat. You should be getting in 50+ grams a day of protein.

It sounds to me like you have the right idea. If I am not mistaken you must be of the muslim area. You couldn't be from the hindi area as you wouldn't have been talking about chicken soup. It isn't easy if those are the foods you are surrounded by as they are so full of oil. I am married to a Pakistani and I will not eat any more of those foods if I don't have to. Once I have to I am very careful in what I choose.

You want to be careful of the dairy as well since it has a lot of fat in it.

I don't know about spoonfuls of food but probably it should be between 1/2 a cup to 1 cup od food per meal. That is if you are eating something heavy. If you make a fist that is what you should consume in a meal.

The fluids are different with everyone. My doctor told me not drink drink anything 1/2 hour before your meal and 2 hours after you have eaten your meal.

While you are teaching yourself to eat slowly if you don't already you will be giving your brain the chance you never did before to tell you that you are full. I know it seems odd but it will happen. Try to start believing that you need this meal to live and not live to eat this meal. You need to begin to believe in yourself that you can succeed in this new journey of yours and make the results everlasting.

I drink 2100ml (72oz.) of Water a day, when I am weight training though I drink another (24oz.) of water a day, I weight train 3 times a week, and I walk 3 times a week.

I have maintained my weight loss of 111 lbs. (from 251 to 140-142) for a year now and become addicted to exercising and gaining muscle. I feel great except for certain muscle groups every so often (all for the good though).

Do not fret, if you truly want to make a difference in your life you will. Don't drive yourself crazy with am I full yet, did I eat enough. Just stick with the rules that your doctor gave you, begin to think healthy and eat healthy and you will succeed.

Josephine