Starting actual foods

[Aracellyxo 0]

Hello I’m new on here, I had my gastric bypass surgery on the 13th of September and I just wanted to know how and when people with the same surgery started introducing actual foods (not soft foods) into their diets and how that went for them. I know a lot of doctors have different ways of how they go about the stages and mines told me to stay on soft foods for 3-6 weeks so I just want to know what I would be looking forward to when I do start to eat solid foods in November. Thank you!

[vikingbeast 985]

I was told three weeks of full liquid and three weeks of purée/soft foods, and had my surgery the day after yours. I had VSG, though. I will say introducing even soft foods has been fraught with peril—I can eat deli turkey, but not deli roast beef. I can eat refried or puréed Beans, but not de la olla (whole beans in broth).

If your doctor said six weeks from surgery then you can eat regular foods beginning 25/10/2021. My date is 26/10/2021 and I can't wait, but know I'll have to be going slowly.

[Aracellyxo 0]

22 minutes ago, vikingbeast said:

I was told three weeks of full liquid and three weeks of purée/soft foods, and had my surgery the day after yours. I had VSG, though. I will say introducing even soft foods has been fraught with peril—I can eat deli turkey, but not deli roast beef. I can eat refried or puréed Beans, but not de la olla (whole Beans in broth).

If your doctor said six weeks from surgery then you can eat regular foods beginning 25/10/2021. My date is 26/10/2021 and I can't wait, but know I'll have to be going slowly.

So the way my doctor set my diet up is first week was Clear Liquids, week two was all liquids, then week 3 I started my soft foods and that’s for 3-6 weeks but I know everyone’s doctors are different and do it differently because I saw someone had a sleeve and they were eating egg whites on the second day (idk if it’s different for sleeve and bypass but still I was shocked to see it) honestly I’ve still been sticking to liquids and probably do soft foods 1/3 meals because I’ll feel like crap after or nauseous

[The Greater Fool 1,932]

I had 6 weeks of puree, then the adventure of normally textured food, where broccoli was shaped like broccoli, lettuce like lettuce, chicken like chicken... well, chicken parts.

pureed was easier than food because that last bite wasn't quite as hard a wall as the last bite with food. So, it was a learning process again to know when to stop before the infamous 'one bite too much.'

So I ate a little slower, chewed a little better, and honestly it took an amazingly small number of times doing it wrong to start getting it right.

As time moved forward as it inextricably does, things got easier and mistakes grew further and further apart.

So many things change where the last bite is. If I'm tired, or sick, or stressed, or upset, my limits are tighter. If I'm not aware it will be a problem, but rarely the rush to the bathroom and spit up variety.

I ran into the 'one bite too many' syndrome more often when I was in a good mood, sharing a meal with friends having a good time, absorbed in conversation not paying attention to the mechanics of eating. Eventually you learn to balance this out also.

Really, we all build up regular foods as something to be feared. You read what I wrote up to this point and it can sound like a horrible mine field. Really it is just another step in the process, as hard or easy as we make it. The more worried I was, the worse I did. When I just relaxed and did it I did much better.

So, just relax, pay attention, and push forward.

Good luck,

Tek

[Splenda 249]

The way the PA in my surgeon's office put it is that you have to experiment and find what works for you. There are some things that your body will struggle with for no apparent reason.

The first solid food I ate was tuna fish with some Greek yogurt and a little bit of salt/pepper. You eat slowly, in small bites with great chewing and wait to see what happens. I know this sounds weird, but I know I am generally okay with a food if I can burp. When a food doesn't work for me, it feels like there is a manhole cover over my stomach and the food feels like it backs up on me until I vomit. But if I am burping, then air is moving through the system and things will be okay.

You will find there are foods that you tolerate that you don't enjoy (chewing watermelon down to a pulp is a deeply unpleasant experience). You will find some foods go down easy (for me, tuna fish, sauteed spinach and/or ground beef all go down fairly easily). You will find some foods that you can handle, but your stomach lets you know that it doesn't enjoy breaking them down (for me, grilled chicken, white rice).

The minute that your stomach indicates that it is full or it is having trouble, put down your fork and stop. It's not worth pushing it.

Go into this with the attitude of "I am going to try this, I am going to listen to my stomach, I am going to do the big three [slow, small, & chewed] and we will see what happens." Solid food is not something to be scared of.