Hello Everyone! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

I am a week out from surgery and I started pureed food this week.

I'm not sure if it's just my anxiety, but I'm kind of nervous that I gained a pound yesterday. I ate half of a deviled egg, mashed potatoes, and some egg salad yesterday, but it was my first time eating mashed potatoes so maybe I should stay away from carbs?

I also felt hungrier than normal. Is it possible to stretch your stomach a week in? My program is kind of behind due to COVID, so my apologies for the many questions.

Thank you so much!

I know my surgeon told us in our pre-op seminar to not eat mashed potatoes. Not that they'd hurt you necessarily, but because they aren't good for you (carbs) and she didn't want us getting back to old habits of eating unhealthy foods.

No, you haven't stretched your stomach. It's pretty hard to stretch your stomach.

I'm surprised you're eating soft foods just a week out, but every surgeon has different recommendations. Take it easy. Take tiny little bites. Take it slow.

Congrats and best wishes on your WLS journey.

According to research ive done on the keto diet suggests that having carbs increases the craving for carbs. Not medical advice.

4 minutes ago, GradyCat said:

I know my surgeon told us in our pre-op seminar to not eat mashed potatoes. Not that they'd hurt you necessarily, but because they aren't good for you (carbs) and she didn't want us getting back to old habits of eating unhealthy foods.

No, you haven't stretched your stomach. It's pretty hard to stretch your stomach.

I'm surprised you're eating soft foods just a week out, but every surgeon has different recommendations. Take it easy. Take tiny little bites. Take it slow.

Congrats and best wishes on your WLS journey.

Thank you so much! I was surprised too but my stomach feels good so far.

1 minute ago, Bridge1967 said:

According to research ive done on the Keto diet suggests that having carbs increases the craving for carbs. Not medical advice.

Yeah, I think I am going to stay away from carbs. Has the keto diet worked for you?

Nope, you did not gain a pound! It takes 3500 excess calories to gain a pound, and I’m 100% sure you did not eat that much a week after surgery.

It’s completely normal for your weight to fluctuate by a couple of pounds. Even over the course of a single day, your weight can fluctuate by more than a pound, depending on the time of day, the timing with respect to eating and going to the bathroom, salt intake (which can make you retain water), etc. A lot of people recommend only weighing yourself once per week so you don’t see those little day-to-day fluctuations.

Mashed potatoes are not the best thing to eat because they’re high in carbs and low in protein, but a lot of programs allow them in the puréed stage (you might want to mix in some unflavored protein powder to add some protein). Is a deviled egg really allowed in the puréed stage? At this point, the concern is not about stretching your stomach so much as tearing the sutures that are holding your stomach together. It’s really important to follow your surgeon’s instructions to allow your stomach to heal properly.

Daily weight fluctuations are a pain in the behind and the reason I've been avoiding my scale. My weight fluctuates up when I increase my sodium and also near my monthly so I tend to drive myself crazy. It's the later part that's bothering me right now and when I saw an extra three pounds on my scale I wanted to throw it! You'd think I'd get over it since it happens EVERY month, but no. It still drives me up a wall! ?

Edited December 27, 20205 yr by NovaLuna

I've been eating mashed potatoes a lot but I top them with nutritional yeast. They're on my diet plan from my nutritionist.

I have had fair success, but ive only been doing it 6 weeks. Daid to myself that i would try it before i would get surgery. Ittle did i know that this is the similiR diet as after surgery. Just no fats. Emphasis on proteins and water.

Congrats on your surgery. Whoo hoo.

It always surprises me the different post surgical diets people are given. I wasn’t on puréed foods until week 5. Follow the plan you were given but don’t be surprised if something on the plan upsets your tummy - just avoid it. As Gradycat said take it slowly. And if you feel you’re struggling, never be afraid to go back a step.

Potatoes are a starch which provide energy but if you don’t use that energy it will be converted to fat. The same with all carbs. This is why many of us are told to avoid them during our weight loss phase. Plus the fat you add when you mash them isn’t the best. They weren’t on my post surgical diet from either my dietician or my surgeon. I still avoid potatoes at 19.5 months out as they tend to sit in my tummy & consume very few carbs (except for whole or multigrain crackers or rolled oats).

My 2.5week pre surgery diet was keto but all the reading I did & conversations with my dietician suggested keto was good as a kick start but because of the high fat not good long term.

Don’t worry too much about fluctuations. Fluid retention, constipation, etc. will up the number on the scales. Plus you know sometimes it’s just our bodies. We can eat & drink exactly the same thing one day to the next but can gain or lose. As long as the your general weight loss trend is going down you’re doing well. (Ignore when you have a stall of course.?)

Good luck on your journey.