I'm just shy of two weeks out from surgery and will soon be transitioning to pureed and soft foods (yay!) After drinking the same protein shakes for over a month pre and post op, I'm looking forward to having more options, but I'm afraid of getting a little overzealous and starting out with something too harsh for my new stomach. For those of you past this phase, what foods did you find easiest to add back at this stage? How long did you stick with pureed foods before adding back whole soft foods?

I just want a bite of chicken so bad! [emoji24]

I remember eating a lot of Greek yogurt and hummus. And refried beans.

I will be 4 weeks on Thursday, so am still in the puréed stage. We do two weeks of full liquids then two of puréed then two weeks of soft food. I would ease into eating the actual chicken pieces, but I make a chicken salad and then send it through the food processor, still taste like chicken but just has a smoother finish. I love hummus and that was easy to digest and I can do scrambled egg now, but that one I eased into. And you can take soups with chunks, but just throw it in the blender first. Also oatmeal is good, I have a high protein recipe I make for breakfast. So there are lots of choices before you are on the soft food stage. I start mine on Thanksgiving so I’ll be happy to get there.

Oh, hummus sounds amazing. My doctor gave me a list of food I'm allowed to eat for each stage post- surgery for the first year. Hummus isn't on the list. The handful of foods that are on the list for my first week of food are mostly yogurt and cottage cheese. Some plain beans the week after. No meat for over a month. ?

I'm with you, I miss chicken so bad...

I liked yogurt, mashed potatoes, mashed avocados, mashed banana, jello, whitefish salad, tuna salad, etc.

any kind of bean, hummus, guacamole (homemade) yogurt for me, Also mandrian oranges in their own juice,

Just an FYI for those of you that are craving chicken, check with your surgeon first. I know all of our plans are different however even once I passed through the puree stage and moved into the soft food stage chicken was still a no no. I was allowed ground beef and ground turkey during soft foods but surgeon was strict about no chicken until after 6 weeks post op

Yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken, fish, shrimp, avocado, deli meat, cheese, eggs, and soups. Beef was on the list however, unless its cooked for a long time like in a stew, I cannot get it chewed to the consistency that is required. So I stay away from beef. Chicken and tuna are my go to. Just remember chew, chew, chew.

tuna mashed up in low fat mayo...yum yum yum yum yum! ?

On 11/23/2019 at 11:26 PM, Metamorphosing said:

Oh, hummus sounds amazing. My doctor gave me a list of food I'm allowed to eat for each stage post- surgery for the first year. Hummus isn't on the list. The handful of foods that are on the list for my first week of food are mostly yogurt and cottage cheese. Some plain Beans the week after. No meat for over a month. ?

I'm with you, I miss chicken so bad...

Wait - no hummus? No meat for a month? I'm reading more and more that says the earlier that normal foods get integrated the better. By week two post-op (sleeve) I was eating chicken (very very soft) and ground beef and beans and hummus and more. Y'all need different doctors lol!

On 11/23/2019 at 7:19 PM, Dyhan said:

I'm just shy of two weeks out from surgery and will soon be transitioning to pureed and soft foods (yay!) After drinking the same Protein Shakes for over a month pre and post op, I'm looking forward to having more options, but I'm afraid of getting a little overzealous and starting out with something too harsh for my new stomach. For those of you past this phase, what foods did you find easiest to add back at this stage? How long did you stick with pureed foods before adding back whole soft foods?

I just want a bite of chicken so bad!

OP if you want some chicken then have some chicken! Something like some thighs in a soup or chicken and dumplings would be soft enough. I was approved for those at 2 weeks post-op for sleeve. I know thats not on your plan but if one doctor approves it (and reading other posts it sounds like more) then it should be ok.

On 11/23/2019 at 20:19, Dyhan said:

I'm just shy of two weeks out from surgery and will soon be transitioning to pureed and soft foods (yay!) After drinking the same Protein Shakes for over a month pre and post op, I'm looking forward to having more options, but I'm afraid of getting a little overzealous and starting out with something too harsh for my new stomach. For those of you past this phase, what foods did you find easiest to add back at this stage? How long did you stick with pureed foods before adding back whole soft foods?

I just want a bite of chicken so bad! [emoji24]

I bought canned chicken and used a little low fat mayo to moisten so I could get my chicken fix. Make sure you chew like you are supposed to. I tried baby food chicken and turkey also. It wasn’t too bad. I puréed chili my husband cooked. Cottage cheese was my go to most of the time.
Good luck. I’m still learning as tomorrow I’m off restriction but I’m trying to make sure to notice when I actually full.

I'd recommend double-checking with your surgeon or dietician over advice from strangers online.

1 minute ago, JessLess said:

I'd recommend double-checking with your surgeon or dietician over advice from strangers online.

I agree with this 100%. Yes plans can vary quite a lot, but your surgeon may have reasons for requiring a certain plan. Plus if you develop some kind of issue, you can honestly tell him/her you've been following the plan. I would be embarrassed to report that I'd been "experimenting" if there was some issue.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! My doctor has given me a list of foods I'm allowed to have which thankfully does include chickena and most of the things mentioned. But the list combines the pureed and soft food stages, so I was just wondering what was easiest on your pouch starting off before I dive straight in from protein shakes.

1 hour ago, lvidacovich said:

Wait - no hummus? No meat for a month? I'm reading more and more that says the earlier that normal foods get integrated the better. By week two post-op (sleeve) I was eating chicken (very very soft) and ground beef and Beans and hummus and more. Y'all need different doctors lol!

I know, right? ?

But honestly, I got a huge amount of detail to prep me for surgery with every step of the post-OP diet spelled out clearly. I'm not thrilled for a week I'll be eating Greek yogurt and string cheese, but the week after I could have fish (of course I'm allergic and I won't, but I could!). A month will pass before I know it.