1. Can take larger sips of water without pain.

2. Can drink colder liquids.

3. Stage 4 foods include pureed soup, tomato juice, blended soft fruits, applesauce, ground chia and flax seeds, cottage cheese - the added variety is so welcome.

4. Cravings continue for bread and sweet carbs.

Current dilemma is I don't feel full - ever. Should I stop expecting to feel full? Is that a sensation I need to forget about? I wonder if I'm eating too slow. Can anyone comment?

My surgery date was 8/6 and I thought it as odd I still crave pizza and everything else I can’t have.. My issue is trying ot get all the protein and liquid in each day. I know I’m supposed to ramp up....but I’m worried I’m not ramping up fast enough. Any thoughts?

My program said just try to do a little better each day, with protein total and fluid total. The protein drinks count as fluid, too, along with water and anything else you drink. By the end of the 1st month we should be getting 50 g daily protein and 48-64 oz fluids. It just cannot happen all at once. I thought of my new stomach like a newborn infant - whose tummy doesn't work well all the time, and it needs gentle soft things - no extremes in temp, taste, texture, seasonings, etc. As a new mom in the lake 60's, we started adding a bit of rice cereal to formula, then oat, etc -- all mild, bland things, with new things added gradually, and one at a time. I'm told my cravings may, or may not stop. It is what it is, and I just have to deal with it!

Where did you have your surgery done?

Muskegon