So I'm new to this but I had a hernia repair and a lap band revision to gastric sleeve on July 19th! I'm pretty excited with this new choice of life but confused at the same time. I never know if I'm eating enough I always have a rumble in my stomach. I'm not able to drink anymore than one bottle of Water a day. I sip on it all day but never exceeded one bottle. I know that's not good and I'm probably dehydrated but I feel stuffed after a few swallows but my stomach sounds like it needs food. I eat sf Jello, broth, Greek yogurt, and strained Soups but I'm not sure how much it too much. After two spoons of something I'm done. Is this normal?? My doctor has now allowed mushy foods. What should I eat and how much is normal?

On the bright side I've lost a total of 19lbs but it sounds so unhealthy.

The three most important elements after gastric sleeve surgery are to meet your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.

Your daily fluid requirements are met in a variety of ways. It includes the Water you drink to take your daily Vitamins. It includes the water in soups. It includes the water or milk content in Protein shakes. So long term it is generally not difficult to meet your daily fluid requirement. But meeting it is very important. As your fat cells are eliminated, they destroy not only fat but the chemicals and hormones stored in these cells. These enter your system and need to be flushed out through your kidneys and then in your urine. So the danger is not only dehydration which can send you back into the emergency room if it gets serious but also intensifies the surge of hormones and emotions. Some individual report taking fluids cold such as flavored water using Crystal Light (and this can also include sugar free popsicles) can go down easier. Others report that hot liquids (such as tea or hot cocoa using "no sugar added" variety can go down easier. So experiment a little until you find what is best for you.

It is common for individuals to be unable to meet their daily fluid and protein requirement during the first few weeks after surgery. You new stomach needs a little time to heal. But keep working towards this goal and you should be able to reach it shortly.

Did your doctor provide guidelines in terms of amount of food? For bypass at first it was no more than 1/4 cup of food at meal times. I could barely get that down.

The Water thing is a bigger deal. You will become dehydrated if you don't drink enough and that can cause you to feel like your stomach is hungry when in fact you are dehydrated.

I know this sounds strange but in the beginning weeks and months following surgery I literally had to hold the cup or bottle in my hand at all times and just sipped every minute or so until I was able to get to 64oz MINIUMUM per day. I know it sounds insurmountable but it will get better for you.

Thanks for the reply! My doctor guidelines seemed to be too much food for me to tolerate so I wasn't sure if someone else doctor said something differently. Also I had no idea that the rumbles in my stomach could possibly be from dehydration. That's for that insight. I measure the amounts of fluid intake daily today I only took in half of what was required. Tomorrow I'm determined to get the entire 64!