Feeling Great - and Now I'm Craving Regular Food!

[LAJ23 70]

I'm religiously sticking to my post-op diet (liquids only until 9/2) but today was tough - really tough. I'm starting to get "phantom" tastes in my mouth (all day today I "tasted" grilled burgers) and I'm starting to crave solid food badly. Not a lot of it - I'm really not hungry - just enough to quash this urge. Not even junk food...I was DYING for a slice of red bell pepper earlier. For lunch, I had my 1/2 cup of low-fat cream of chicken soup...went down without issue and even had really small pieces of chicken in it (which I chewed diligently). Tell me this too, passes? Do I REALLY need to wait until 10/2 before eating anything solid? Obviously, I'm not ready to slam down a 6-course meal, but OMG...what I wouldn't give for a small piece of grilled chicken, etc. As I type this, I'm making giant grilled chicken burritos and jalapeno cheddar rice for my husband and son. What I wouldn't give to just have a small bit of the burrito - don't even want rice! Having to make this stuff and not being able to eat it is cruel. 😞

[Pandemonium 515]

Trust in your bariatric team. The diet restrictions are definitely tough to deal with, but it's only a temporary thing. They are there for a reason. It's to allow your new stomach to heal fully from the surgery. Jumping ahead too soon could have very dire consequences and cause serious setbacks. You've come this far and you're doing great!

[Pandemonium 515]

And if it helps, I'm just over past 7 weeks post-op and I'm still on soft foods because my doctor threw his own book out the window and decided to do a very slow progression for me. Once you get to soft foods, you're gonna be thrilled and it'll make the wait to get to solid foods that much easier. Scrambled eggs will never taste as good as they do the first time you eat them post-op.

And...there's the ricotta bake to look forward to.

[LAJ23 70]

2 minutes ago, Pandemonium said:

And if it helps, I'm just over past 7 weeks post-op and I'm still on soft foods because my doctor threw his own book out the window and decided to do a very slow progression for me. Once you get to soft foods, you're gonna be thrilled and it'll make the wait to get to solid foods that much easier. Scrambled eggs will never taste as good as they do the first time you eat them post-op.

And...there's the ricotta bake to look forward to.

Thank you so much for the kind, supportive words - I really appreciate it. You're down 112lb in 7 weeks? HOLY CRAP! Or, was some of that pre-op? I lost most of my 25# pre-op. Since the surgery (sleeved on 8/19) I'm only down two additional pounds. 😞 And, what in the world is "ricotta bake"? Sounds yummy! Is there a recipe you can share?

[Pandemonium 515]

2 minutes ago, LAJ23 said:

Thank you so much for the kind, supportive words - I really appreciate it. You're down 112lb in 7 weeks? HOLY CRAP! Or, was some of that pre-op? I lost most of my 25# pre-op. Since the surgery (sleeved on 8/19) I'm only down two additional pounds. 😞 And, what in the world is "ricotta bake"? Sounds yummy! Is there a recipe you can share?

Most of the weight loss was pre-op. I started my surgeon's bariatric program at the beginning of February. I lost 78.3lbs pre-op and have lost 33.8lbs post-op.

As for ricotta bake, it's a VERY easy recipe that falls squarely within the soft foods category and tastes a lot like lasagna without the noodles. https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1793517

It's also very versatile because you can make additions to it. I made a big batch tonight and added in some seasoned ground turkey to up the Protein content.

[LAJ23 70]

18 minutes ago, Pandemonium said:

Most of the weight loss was pre-op. I started my surgeon's bariatric program at the beginning of February. I lost 78.3lbs pre-op and have lost 33.8lbs post-op.

As for ricotta bake, it's a VERY easy recipe that falls squarely within the soft foods category and tastes a lot like lasagna without the noodles. https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1793517

It's also very versatile because you can make additions to it. I made a big batch tonight and added in some seasoned ground turkey to up the Protein content.

Wow! Good for you! I started on Rx weight loss meds in Feb. as well, but for some reason, I didn't lose a single pound until about the middle of May. Then, between May & Aug, I lost about 20# on my own. I know I'm only one week out, but sadly, I'm a type-A, impatient person. LOL! If I don't see results quickly (with anything in my life) I get frustrated. I'm going to stick to this diet plan and exercise accordingly and just hope it works.
Thanks for the recipe. I'll be sure to try it!!!

[catwoman7 10,922]

stick to your plan. Ultimate success with this is pretty dependent on trusting your team and sticking to your plan.

[LAJ23 70]

7 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

stick to your plan. Ultimate success with this is pretty dependent on trusting your team and sticking to your plan.

Yes, ma'am! Will do! ☺️ I guess I just don't understand these "phantom tastes"...are they normal? This morning I woke up with the taste of salt in my mouth - like I ate something salty and the taste lingered. Are these phantom tastes normal and do they go away? I'm also finding out that the Protein Shakes I've been drinking for months (and actually really like!) taste way too sweet, even though they only have 1g of sugar. Drinking them daily has become a challenge.

[catwoman7 10,922]

1 minute ago, LAJ23 said:

Yes, ma'am! Will do! ☺️ I guess I just don't understand these "phantom tastes"...are they normal? This morning I woke up with the taste of salt in my mouth - like I ate something salty and the taste lingered. Are these phantom tastes normal and do they go away? I'm also finding out that the Protein Shakes I've been drinking for months (and actually really like!) taste way too sweet, even though they only have 1g of sugar. Drinking them daily has become a challenge.

it's been a long time for me (over five years), but I do remember that my sense of taste got more intense after surgery - sweet things tasted sweeter, spicy things tasted spicier. I don't notice that anymore and haven't for a long time. Not sure if it went away, or if I just got used to it...

[Cheeseburgh 3,075]

19 minutes ago, LAJ23 said:

I'm also finding out that the Protein Shakes I've been drinking for months (and actually really like!) taste way too sweet, even though they only have 1g of sugar. Drinking them daily has become a challenge.

I added coffee or Decaf to make them less sweet. I didn’t have any phantom tastes but it’s super normal to crave regular food. I thought the soft stage was hard. The good news is that something healthy and mundane like grilled chicken will feel decadent when you move to that phase!

edited to add. Stop cooking for your family if it’s hard on you! They can do it!

Edited August 27, 2020 by Cheeseburgh

[Barbwired 13]

I'm sorry but is there some reason why your husband can't cook for now until you're ready to eat solid foods again? It DOES seem very cruel that you have to cook what you can't eat. Again I'm sorry but that's just not fair at all to you.

[LAJ23 70]

My husband works 12-14 hr/day and my son works full time and is taking full time college classes. They do cook a lot of the time, but aren’t always able to, so I jump in. I don’t mind doing it, but the aromas are proving very difficult to deal with!

[Barbwired 13]

I don't know how you do it, you're a stronger person than I am! If I can't eat it, I can't cook it LOL!